Jodi Bender fights back
by benderthecriminal
Summary: This is my first fanfic so please bare with me and please review to let me know how i'm doing! All about John Bender's younger sister and their struggle at home, also includes the rest of The Breakfast Club! Please read and review :) Does contain violence, bad language, minor drug use, and possibly sexual references
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **Jodi:** I arrived home at around 5:30pm, a little later than usual but after this morning I just couldn't face my father. It was close this morning. I had to change into a top with long sleeves before running out of the house to go to school. I knew it would bruise almost instantly. He's usually clever; hits us on our backs, our upper arms, our legs, all so that no one can see the bruises. By us I mean John and I of course. John's my brother; he's 17, exactly two years older than me since our birthdays are the same date. But anyway this morning was different.

It started the same as usual; I woke up, I woke John up, and unfortunately I woke my dad up in the process. "I'm trying to sleep you little pricks!" He screamed, running into the kitchen where I was hunting for breakfast.

"I'm just looking for food, chill" I replied.

"Chill? Chill?!"

"What? Did I stutter?"

"Don't you fucking speak to me like that! Come here!" That's when it happened. He grabbed my wrist so tight, I could feel his nails digging into me. I tried to shake him off but it wasn't working. He grabbed my other wrist and pinned me against the wall. We were both shouting at each other. That's when John came running out of his room. He pushed our father away and gently shoved me out of the danger zone. I couldn't watch him hit John again. I went into my room and changed, then I grabbed my bag and walked straight past them fighting and out the front door. It may seem crazy that I left John, I don't like leaving him and he knows that. But it's what we've learnt we have to do over the years.

 **John:** I heard them shouting but I always leave them for a lil' while. It hurts me to see or hear Jodi being beaten, but at the same time I know that if I stop him all the time she'll have no chance if I'm not here. I mean I always step in, I can't leave him hit her forever. He won't stop. He'll kill her.

I could hear their tones change and that's when I knew it was time. I ran outta my room and it surprised me to see him pinning her against the cabinets in the kitchen. I tackled him and pushed her outta the way. He beat me for a lil' while but then I pushed him down and left.

 **Jodi:** I waited outside for John and when he came out we walked to school. I asked him if he was alright and of course he said yeah. But he actually did look alright this time, maybe dad was too hungover to put up a fight.

So when I got home I expected things to have cooled off. Dad hardly ever mentions our fights afterwards, he just pretends it didn't happen until it happens again. However this time, when he saw me he started laughing, psychotically. "Yeah. Big ol' Johnny ain't 'ere to protect ya now is he?!" He laughed. I just ignored him and walked into my bedroom. To my surprise, he followed me. Must'a been the first time he's been in my room since I was a kid. He pushed me up against the wall again, the window wall actually. My hands were behind my back so I managed to open it without him realising. It was probably obvious what I was doing but he was too pissed to realise. As soon as the window was open enough, I kicked him in the nuts, turned around, jumped out the window and ran. Thank God we live in a house with no stairs.

 **John:** I hope Jodi's alright. I ain't seen her properly since we got to school. She was pretty quiet on the way. I mean yeah our prick of a father has hit her before, but I dunno this time seemed different. I expected her to be at home when I got there at around 9:30, but dad said she jumped out the window again. That was always her escape.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Jodi:** I woke up early, from the sunset. My watch said it was about 5:15am. It took me a little while to realise where I was and what happened last night. But then, as I looked around and saw a small bottle of vodka (nearly empty) and some cigarette butts on the floor, it all came flooding back to me. I had ran down the street to the local off licence. The shopkeeper knew our family so I told him I was getting the vodka for my dad, he pitied us, he didn't charge me for it because he knew I'd get a bollocking if I went home without it. Oh God I'll pay for that one later, he's bound to mention it to my dad. And now I was laying underneath the school bleachers, I need to get out of here before school starts.

I walked down the street to the pay phone, luckily I had some loose change with me. I couldn't decide who to phone at first. We didn't have a phone at home, well we did but my father broke it last week, so I decided to phone the only number I could remember; Claire Standish.

Claire is John's girl, he made me memorise her number just in case, she had a private line to her room too so her parents wouldn't find out. When she answered she told me her parents had already gone to work so I was welcome to go round. I had a shower at hers and chucked my clothes back on. I needed to go home and change.

 **John:** When I got up it was 8:15am, Jodi usually wakes me at 8 on the dot. Hm, I guess she's not home yet then. I got up, threw my clothes on and just as I was about to leave I heard a tap at the window. It was Claire, my princess.

"Hey sweets, what you doing here?" I asked as I opened the window. That's when I noticed Jodi was with her. "Jodi! Where the heck have you been man?"

"I was.. Uh.." She started.

"She was at mine John, my dad doesn't know" Claire said.

Hm, I can't tell if she's covering for Jodi but I don't wanna doubt my girl.

"Alright, climb in"

"You sure your dad won't notice?"

"Nah just be quiet" I leaned in and gave Claire a huge kiss, God I missed her last night.

"Erm.. Yeah.. Guys I'm just gonna go get some clean clothes.." Jodi said, we laughed.

 **Claire:** I had to cover for Jodi, her and John get a hard time at home. John tries to cover it up and act strong, but I know he's worried about Jodi really. But I think she'll be fine, she's strong, they both are. It's weird, they're so alike yet so different. They look alike, yet John has a sort of rough edge about him, Jodi however is naturally perfect. She wears no make up and everyone still finds her beautiful. I wish people would see me like that.. Anyway, Jodi is a lot smarter than John. They share the same laid back 'I don't give a shit' attitude but Jodi seems to be naturally brainy too, she's hardly in class and still getting good grades. I mean Jodi even got moved forward a year, and John held back a year so we're all in the same grade now. She's good at art too, whereas John prefers music. I feel like a big sister to Jodi. John's had to act like a father figure to her, and I don't know much about their mom but from what I can gather, she isn't much better than their dad.

 **Jodi:** We managed to get out of the house without waking mom or dad for once, but we still sent Claire out the window, just to be safe. We walked to school and met up with Andy, Allison and Brian. I thought it would be weird being friends with my brother's friends, but I must say they're actually pretty cool. It wasn't awkward at all, I seemed to fit right in and I've pretty much caught up with everything now.

Of course John and Claire have a thing going on, I think Andy and Allison tried to have a thing but they mutually agreed that it wasn't working. I was kinda glad about that. I liked Andy, you know, as a friend..

 **Andy:** I like having Jodi hang 'round with us. She's cute. But she would never like a stupid jock like me. She's beautiful. She could get anyone she wanted.

 **Brian:** It's cool having Jodi with us now. It used to be me, Allison and Andy always slightly separate to John and Claire. But now, Andy talks to Jodi more, I think he likes her. It gives me more time to speak to Allison, she's really interesting and I just want to get to know her better. I don't want her to think I'm just a nerd. I can be more than that. I can be a lover.

 **Allison:** Jodi's cool. I didn't have many friends, so anyone who doesn't think I'm totally weird is cool by me.

 **Jodi:** When we got to school, Richard 'Dick' Vernon wanted to speak to me. He's our principal, everyone called him Dick. Well everyone who was like us anyway, God I think John even started it.

"Ah, Jodi Bender. Follow me, I need a word with you in my office" he caught me the moment I walked in.

"Oh c'mon Dick. Is there really any need?"

He stared at me, so reluctantly I followed him..

 **Richard:** Wow, she actually followed me quite easily this time. Jodi Bender wasn't the easiest kid to deal with, but I guess she's not as bad as John. I don't know how their parents put up with the!, little shits the both of them. Anyway, I have to find a way to tell her this without her kicking off..

"Jodi. After school yesterday, Carl and I did a locker search-"

"Yeah and? Get on with it Dick."

"We found this in your locker" I pulled out the bag of dope from behind me and showed it to her. She stared at me. Usually, Jodi Bender would have come out with some witty comment or insult. She wasn't speaking so I continued, "well of course this means detention, miss Bender. 7am sharp Saturday. Don't be late." I opened the door for her and she just walked out, no reply, no fight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Jodi:** It was saturday. That meant one thing, detention. Both me and John had detention, along with Allison. It was 6.45am, we need to leave now to get to the school by 7. I walked into the lounge and to my surprise, dad was sat there. He can't have woken up already, he must have been there all night. Great.

I could have gone out through my window and avoided everything, but I needed to wake John. I walked as quietly as possible but unfortunately, dad was already awake.

"Where the fuck are you going this time in the morning?!" He shouted.

"School." I replied

"School? On a Saturday?" He started to laugh, "Wait a minute. Do you have detention? Again?!" He stood up. I didn't need to answer him, he knew.

"What did you do this time you retarded fuck?!" He screamed.

I knew there was no point in lying. "I um, I had dope, in my uh locker" I muttered.

He looked at me, lifted his hand and hit me right across my face. I spat blood out immediately. My face was throbbing. The anger I felt was unreal. I looked at him right in the eyes and punched him in the face. It wasn't a great punch, but it worked. I walked off and got John up. Then we left.

 **John:** When Jodi woke me up it was 6:55am. At first I thought she had slept late, but then I saw her face. Her mouth was bleeding and her eye was slightly swollen. She explained everything while we walked to school. She stood up to our father, by herself. I was so proud of her, but so angered by my dad. He'd pay for this.

I made her show me her hand, it was definitely broken. I told her to go to the hospital but she refused.

 **Jodi:** By the time we got to school it was almost 7:10am, Dick was late as well so for once we didn't get caught. The adrenaline was wearing off now and my hand and face were starting to hurt. I ignored the pain as best as I could and took a seat in the library. There was no one else there except Allison, she was always on time.

Mr Vernon noticed my face and asked about it. I had to tell him I walked into the door frame this morning. I could tell he didn't believe me but I doubt he really cared. He went on and gave us the usual speech and then left. He actually closed the door for once.

 **Andy:** Claire and I walked quietly towards the back of the school. Why are we doing this?

 **Jodi:** At around 10am, we heard a short, sharp knock from the towards the back of the library. I was nearly sleeping, but the knock made us all turn around. We heard it again so John went to have a look. Allison and I could hear the fire escape open and then we heard familiar voices. It was Andy! Oh, and Claire.

 **John:** I can't believe my princess and Sporto practically broke into this shit hole to see us. Ha I've taught them well. I had to tell them what happened to Jodi and Claire said she knew a bit about first aid, so we've decided to sneak into the nurses office and see what we can do.

 **Andy:** I hope we can find something for Jodi's hand. If I help her, maybe she'll start to like me a bit.

We took the side entrance out of the library as Vernon was sat by the main entrance. We snuck around the halls, peeping round each corner. Suddenly, we could hear footsteps behind us.

"Shit. Allison, you go back to the library and hide Claire outside. Sporto, you take Jodi to the nurses office" John said.

"How will we know when it's safe to come out?" Jodi asked what I was thinking.

"I'll let you know, trust me. Just listen out for me okay?" John turned down one corner, Allison and Claire turned down the other. So now it was just me and Jodi.

 **Jodi:** Andy and I reached the nurses office and found some bandages. So now we just have to wait for John to come back. I don't think I've ever really been alone with Andy. We just stood around and talked, quietly. He was telling me about his wrestling match yesterday but I couldn't concentrate. I was just staring into his eyes. His big blue eyes.

Oh crap. He's noticed. He's stopped talking. Shit.

"Sorry." I said. He shook his head gently. "What?" I asked.

"You're beautiful." He whispered.

I could feel myself blushing. No boy had made me feel like this before, ever.

Before I could reply, he leaned in and kissed me. I pulled away. He looked embarrassed, I don't know why I did that. I pulled him back to me and kissed him.

 **Andy:** I kissed her, and she pulled away. Great. I knew I shouldn't have done that. I was about to walk away when she pulled me back and kissed me. I pulled her body close to mine. She was shorter than me and had to stand on her toes to reach me. So I picked her up, cleared the nurses desk and put her to sit on it, all while still locked in a kiss. She ran her hands through my hair and it felt wonderful. I mean I've kissed plenty of other girls before, but this, this was different. It just felt right. Maybe this was the start of something. Oh God I hope so.

 **Jodi:** We must have kissed for ages. We only stopped when we heard John and Dick shouting out in the hall. We couldn't make out what the were saying but we could tell they were getting closer.

"Quick. Get under the desk and climb out the window once we've gone" I said laughing. Andy clambered under it and only just fitted, he looked tiny.

"The things I do for you" he replied.

Just then Dick opened the door with John behind him. I explained that I needed bandages for my hand. So reluctantly, he bandaged my hand up with John. Then he practically dragged us back to the library, where Allison was sat waiting, alone.

 **Allison:** After lunch, we heard another knock outside. We were confused at first; Andy and Claire had come back in. The only other person it could be is, Brian? It was him! I couldn't help but hug him when he came in, and awkwardly he hugged me back.

 **Claire:** It was nice having everyone back together. John had managed to sneak into Vernon's office and get Jodi's bag of dope that he had confiscated. So we all sat together and smoked some, it was almost like that first Saturday that brought us all together.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **Andy:** After detention had finished and Brian, Claire and I had managed to hide from Dick, I walked Jodi home. John and Claire had been picked up by Claire's father down the road from the school, and Allison and Brian went the opposite way to the shop. So it was just us.

We walked slowly, to be honest I didn't want to leave her. We decided to buy a pizza. Jodi was reluctant at first as she had no money, but I eventually convinced her I didn't mind paying. I didn't mind doing anything for her.

So we ate our pizza and even had a few more moments like we had back in the nurses office. But then, we reached Jodi's house.

"I don't want to leave you" I told her.

"Don't get all soppy on me now, it's fine" she replied, laughing.

"No I'm serious. I mean, after this morning, are you sure you'll be alright? What if your dad hits you again? I don't want anything happening to you."

"I'm strong! I'll be fine, look at my muscles!" Jodi jokingly flexed her biceps.

"Why do you joke about it?"

"What?"

"Everything with your dad and things at home, you always joke about it. Why?"

"Because Andy, if I don't joke, I'll cry. And if I start crying, I don't think I'll ever stop." She gave me one final kiss and walked to her house. I watched her for a moment and then I left.

 **Jodi:** I walked into my house to find my mother sat in the lounge. Dad was nowhere to be seen. I looked at her, she was stoned, as per usual. I walked into the kitchen and looked for food. We had nothing.

"Mom, have we got any bread?" I asked.

"Your dads in the shop." She replied.

"Um which shop?"

"I don't fucking know!"

"Calm down! I only bloody asked!"

I walked into my bedroom and shut the door. Oh crap. If he's gone to the off licence then he'll find out about the vodka. And John wasn't here to help me either. Oh God.

I heard the door slam shut. He was home. He was angry. I heard him shouting, asking my mother where I was. She must have pointed because I didn't hear her reply. He threw my door open and ran towards me. He grabbed me and dragged me into the lounge. He stopped for a moment and practically threw my mother into their bedroom.

"Don't touch her!" I screamed.

He laughed and walked back towards me. I panicked. I looked around and grabbed the first thing I saw. It was a glass beer bottle. I held it in the air, unsure what I was actually doing. He grabbed my hand and made me drop the bottle. Still laughing he placed his hand around my throat and pushed me to the wall. I managed to spit at him, but I missed. He let go of my throat.

"Big mistake." He said.

"What? John isn't here so you'll just beat me instead?" I struggled to talk.

He put one hand on my shoulder and pinned me to the wall. Then he lifted my hand up and inspected the bandage. He pulled his pocket knife out of his boot and cut the bandages off. They fell to the floor. He ran the blade down my hand, it was cold and it felt strange against the heat of my hand. It still throbbed from earlier, and it was swollen too. My heart was pounding. Everything seemed to go in slow motion.

He pressed the blade into the palm of my hand. I could have tried running, but I'm not running anymore. He dragged the blade downwards, purposely moving it slowly. The pain was unreal, but I couldn't show him that. I fought back the tears and somehow managed not to scream. After what felt like forever, he stopped. He left go of my shoulder. I stared him in the eyes for a moment, before walking back to my bedroom.

Once in was inside, I barricaded the door with the only possessions I had; a cabinet, my broken closet, my old wooden bed, and a large box of clothes. My hand was bleeding badly and it was making me feel dizzy. The cut must have been about 5 centimetres long. I grabbed an old t shirt, ripped it with my teeth, and wrapped it around my hand. The pain was more than anything I've ever experienced. I dragged my mattress off the bed frame so that I could put the bed on its side against the door. I put the mattress in the centre of my room and just lay on it. I could feel the blood pouring out of my hand. The white t shirt I used as a bandage was totally red. I was losing too much blood. I passed out.

 **John:** I came home from Claire's late, around 11pm. Dad was laying on the sofa, pissed. Mom was sat in the kitchen, probably stoned. Jodi was no where to be seen, she must have been sleeping. I went into my room and looked for my cigarettes. Damn, I was all out. I snuck back into the lounge to steal one of dad's, and that's when I saw it. His pocket knife lay on the floor, next to Jodi's bandages. I ran to her room but her door wouldn't open. I climbed out my bedroom window and looked in hers. She was laying on her mattress in the middle of her room. I couldn't open her window. I turned and ran down the street, Andy only lived down the road. I managed to get his attention and he snuck out and ran back with me. Together, we managed to get her window open and we carried her outside. Her hand was wrapped in a t shirt, there was blood dripping from it. We knew something was wrong, this was bad. The hospital was 5 minutes away, I ran ahead and alerted them while Andy carried her in behind me.

 **Andy:** As soon as I heard John outside my house I knew something was wrong. It's all my fault, I should never have left her. Jodi was rushed away from us as soon as we got here. It's been over an hour now. Finally, a nurse came into the waiting room. John and I stood up immediately. She explained that Jodi lost a lot of blood and had to have a blood transfusion. She also said that she's had 6 stitches in her hand. It was bandaged up for now but tomorrow it would be put into a plaster cast. We were allowed to go see her, finally.

She was sleeping when we entered, but soon woke up. She was groggy and confused but we reassured her. She explained to us what happened. John told her to tell the hospital that she didn't know what happened, I wasn't entirely sure why. I was just glad she's alright, I thought she was going to die in my arms.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **John:** It was Sunday afternoon. Jodi now had a plaster cast on her right hand. She was allowed to go home but we were trying to think of a plan. Everyone was here; Andy, Claire, Allison and Brian. Andy wasn't happy with Jodi staying with our father, in case it happened again. I mean I didn't really want her to go back there either but what choice did we have?

Finally, we came to an agreement. Andy would come home with me and Jodi and then he'd leave once Jodi is sleeping later. The rest of the guys would go home as normal and we'd meet them in the morning for school.

 **Jodi:** I got home with John and Andy. When we walked in, mom and dad were waiting for us on the sofa. Obviously they asked who Andy was so I said he was a friend who was helping me do school work because I couldn't write. They didn't ask any questions, thank God.

 **Andy:** John went into his room and Jodi lead me into hers and shut the door. I had seen her room quickly yesterday, we moved her things from the door to make sure she could get in today. Her room was nearly bare, the only furniture so had was her bed, a small cabinet, an old broken closet and a box full of her clothes. In a corner of her room were all her school stuff; a few worn textbooks and the same bag she's had since she started high school. The room was cold, there was a small radiator on one of the walls but it looked broken and I guessed it was. Her aged white walls were splattered with neon coloured paints, and bright posters and paintings plastered the walls. Her bed frame was old and the mattress was bare apart from a thin blanket draped over it. Her quilt cover was just plain black, and she had an assortment of older looking pillows and cushions. She looked embarrassed of her room, so I kissed her and told her I loved it.

 **Jodi:** Andy and I lay on the bed for hours. Just talking and kissing. I still felt terrible from last night but he almost made me forget everything. He told me he had a wrestling match in the week that he wanted me to see. I had never watched wrestling before, we don't have a TV so I didn't know what to expect. But I still agreed, he'd done so much for me yesterday, I wanted to do something for him.

Wednesday came by and it was time for Andy's wrestling match. The past few days have been quiet in the house; my dad's been out a lot so it's only really been my mom, John and I. Also, my face has healed up pretty well, my black eye is nearly gone and isn't swollen anymore. Anyway, I had got the whole Breakfast Club together to watch Andy. He didn't ask me to, but I knew he'd appreciate it.

The wrestling match went really well, Andy won. To celebrate, we went to this little diner and all had food together. It was nice and it seemed like things may actually be looking up.

 **Claire:** "Okay everyone, John's got some news!" I was so excited for him.

"Sweets it's not that big a deal, it's nothing guys", John replied.

"No come on bro, tell us!" Jodi joined in. Soon we were all chanting "tell us, tell us".

John laughed. "Alright alright. I uh, I got a job." He said.

"What? Where?!"

"That little bar down the road from our house, it's not much but I thought I could do with the money and anyway, Patrick had to practically beg me to take the job. He was desperate I couldn't turn the man down". John shrugged it off like it was no big deal, but I knew he was excited about it really. His eyes were sparkling with excitement when he told me about it the other night.

John continued, " Hey princess here has news too! Her parents are outta town from Friday morning to Monday night, long weekend of partying anyone?"

"I'm in! Could do with a party after this week" said Jodi.

"Yeah me too" Andy joined in.

"Definitely! Sounds good to me" said Allison.

"Well if you're all going I guess I could make something up to tell my parents" Brian mumbled.

"So I guess we're having a party Sweets" John winked at me.

What have I agreed to?


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six**

 **John:** So it was Friday, and that meant one thing: party! This is the first party all of us have had together. I managed to buy some drink for everyone so it should be good. We just have to get the final things sorted now.

 **Brian:** I sat in my room nervously, waiting for Andy and Colton. Colton was Andy's older brother, he's doing us a favour. There was a knock at the door. I sat and listened to my father opening the door.

"Hi, I'm Mr Clark, Andrew's uncle. He's staying with me this weekend and we were wondering if Brian would like to join us? We'll be visiting the museum so it will be very educational." I nearly laughed hearing Colton say this.

"Uh yeah, okay. I guess that will be fine, when will you be coming back?" My father replied.

"Well I'm picking Andrew up from school today so I'll pick Brian up too and then bring him back to you after school on Monday."

"Alright. I suppose that will be fine but I'd like contact details in case of an emergency."

"Of course sir. If Brian gets his stuff quickly, I'll take him to school now also."

So after promising my dad I would phone him every day, he finally let me leave. The rest of the guys were hiding around the corner. They all burst out laughing when they saw us walking back. Colton shook his head and took $20 from Andy. He left and we walked to school, dropping our things off in Claire's house on the way.

 **Jodi:** The day in school went slow. John, Allison and I had to try our hardest not to end up with detention tomorrow. But somehow we managed it.

So the end of the day came and we all met up to walk to Claire's. I had only been here that one time and I didn't realise how big it was. She even had a swimming pool outside!

John brought loads of alcohol so we decided to play drinking games, and first up was spin the bottle.

 **Brian:** I didn't want to play this game. But then, it was my turn and it pointed at Allison. Oh my gosh. I get to kiss Allison. So we kissed and I got maybe a bit too excited. It was my first kiss I couldn't help it. I hoped no one would notice but they all did and they started laughing. Until Claire told them to stop.

 **Jodi:** At around 8pm there was a knock at the door. All of Claire's old friends had turned up. Great. Claire tried to make them leave but then all the boys turned up and barged in. We all felt awkward, but they brought more drink with them so we just made everyone go outside. After a few hours everyone had mixed together a bit. But then I saw this girl talking to Andy. I was sat by Brian and Allison, near the pool. They could see I was annoyed. Andy had only gone to get me another drink and this girl just started taking to him, she was all over him. He was looking at me and trying to get away but she wasn't letting him. I walked over to her and told her to leave him alone. She started saying stuff about me and then kissed Andy. He pushed her away. I called her a slut and she slapped me across the face. So I pushed her to the side and she fell in the pool. Everyone went silent. Her friend helped her out while some huge jock came over to me, shouting. Andy told him to stop and pushed him slightly. The jock, called Mark, threw Andy into the pool. Suddenly, John came running over and punched Mark right in the face. Mark started fighting back. John may not look it, but he's stronger than Mark. He grabbed Mark by the collar, like our father does to us, and dragged him out of the house. He told everyone else to get out to, and they actually listened.

I walk over to the pool and gave Andy my hand so I could help him out. He grabbed my hand and pulled me in the pool with him! Everyone was laughing and eventually we all ended up in there.

 **Andy:** I woke up the next morning with a terrible headache. I looked around, I was laying near the pool on my back, with both my arms stretched out. Jodi was sleeping next to me, laying on top of one of my arms. I pulled my arm inwards, rolling Jodi on top of me and waking her up in the process. She looked cute when she was sleepy. She smiled at me and I kissed her. She was running her hands through my hair again and I was starting to get a bit 'excited'. We were having a bit of a moment when we heard a cough. John was stood by the door.

"Uh love birds, you want breakfast? Big Bri's making pancakes" he said.

Jodi jumped up, "yes! I love pancakes" she laughed and helped me up.

 **Brian:** I was glad everyone liked pancakes. I always make them for my sister so I didn't mind making them for everyone. I quite enjoyed it actually. I was feeling horrible after last night, I was sick all night long. I'm not used to drinking. But cooking the pancakes were taking my mind off the hangover a bit. I woke up next to Allison. It was nice, I just hope I didn't embarrass myself last night. I can't really remember much.

 **John:** After breakfast, Jodi and I went outside to have a cigarette. Although we had all smoked before, and Allison sometimes smoked when she was drunk, it was only me and Jodi that smoked regularly. I guess it was our way of coping with things at home. Anyway, I wanted to talk to her about something.

"Hey Jodi, I gotta be serious for a moment."

"Why? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah yeah it's fine. Look you know just because I got this job, I don't want you to think I ain't there for you no more."

"What? No! I never thought that. I'm happy for you Johnny."

"I just wanted you to know that's all. Just in case you thought I was leaving you with dad on purpose."

"No honestly. It's fine, I'm glad you've got a job. I can deal with dad! And anyway, I have Andy now too, and the rest of the guys. If I need to get out of the house I'll just go find one of them."

"Alright then, if you're sure. But I'm still here for you alright, I'm always here. And I promise you, once I get enough money, we'll be outta here!"

 **Jodi:** John was so kind. People may not see that side of him, but I do. And I know Claire does too. I didn't really believe that we'd be able to get out of here, but i liked his optimism so I wasn't going to tell him. I mean, I wish we could get out of here but it's highly unlikely. Anyway, after he told me everything I gave him a hug. We finished our cigarettes and went back inside with everyone else.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author note: this chapter does contain sexual content so if you're not comfortable reading about it, please feel free to skip this chapter.**_

 **Chapter 7**

 **Claire:** We decided to have a quieter night tonight. We still had some drink, but not as much as last night. We sat downstairs and watched a video we rented.

John and I have been dating for about two and a half months now, and finally, I think I'm ready.

I had been thinking about it all day, and I think John noticed I wasn't myself. About half an hour into the movie, I went upstairs to my room and said I needed a lie down. John followed me up. We sat on the edge of my bed.

"Are you alright Sweets? You seem upset, have I done something wrong?"

"No John. I'm fine."

"No you're not. C'mon princess, tell me. Pleeease?"

I laughed. "Okay. I um, I think I might be ready to, you know, take it to the next step.."

"You mean have sex?"

I blushed, "yes."

"Are you sure? You know this will officially make you my girl, there's no going back from this."

"No I know, I'm sure. I'm ready"

"Alright then."

John lied back on the bed, wearing only a vest and his jeans. I was wearing a skirt and a top. I sat next to him. He started kissing me and made me feel comfortable. He lay on top of me and gently pulled my top off before throwing it to the floor. Then he unzipped my skirt and did the same with it. He had seen me in my underwear before. He started to take his own clothes off so we were both there in our underwear. He kissed me again, all down my neck and chest and across my breasts. It felt special. He put his hands behind me and undid my bra. I leaned forward and it fell off, so I threw it with the rest of our clothes. We continued like this until we were completely naked. I was laying on my back, John was on top of me and my duvet was draped over his back. He looked so handsome. He stopped kissing me.

"Are you sure now?" He asked.

"Yes" I smiled at him.

"Okay, it's going to feel a bit weird alright, and it may hurt at first, but I'll be gentle." I nodded and watched him put a condom on. This was it. He started kissing me again and them I felt him inside me. It felt strange, uncomfortable almost. He asked me if I was okay again and I nodded.

"One push from me and then you'll feel better alright" he was being so gentle. He pushed into me and I let out a little moan. It hurt. But he was right, it did feel better now. I kissed him and held onto his back while he moved in and out of me. Eventually, I started to get into the rhythm with him. I felt less conscious and just went with it, I was moaning so much but so was he now and again. After a while, I had a weird feeling build up inside me. John noticed, he told me to just go with it so I did. We reached climax together.

 **John:** I pulled out of her, took the condom off, tied it up and threw it in the bin. Then I lied down next to her. We were both panting. Wow. I've had sex plenty of times, but that was different. That was special. I hugged Claire and asked her if she was okay again. She said she was but I could tell she was in pain a bit.

"I'm sorry", I said, "I did try to be as gentle as I could."

"I'm fine. You were gentle John, you were lovely."

I gave her another kiss and looked her in the eyes.

"I love you Claire Standish." She looked shocked, I don't think she was expecting me to say that. I had never said that to a girl before, except for my mom and Jodi when I was a kid. Oh God, maybe I shouldn't have said it. I closed my eyes and turned to face the other way.

"I love you too John Bender." She whispered it to me. I couldn't help but smile.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **John:** After laying in bed for a while, Claire and I went downstairs to find that the movie had finished. The guys started laughing when we came down, they knew what had happened upstairs. We'll probably never hear the end of this, hahaha.

It was late now and we were all hungry. The diner would be closed and we didn't want another take away. So we decided to go to the off licence and see if they had any food.

 **Jodi:** When we go to the off licence it was about 10:15pm. Claire and John walked in front, then Brian and Allison, with Andy and I last. Andy was walking behind me with his arms wrapped around me, we were laughing.

As we were looking for some food, we heard someone else walk in. We didn't pay any attention to it until our father walked around the corner. Shit. He started laughing and he was clearly drunk, so John and I stepped in front of him. He started shouting stuff at the guys, just nonsense stuff.

"Johnny my boy!" He shouted.

"Dad go home." John replied.

"Home? If I go home I have to see that whore of a mother of yours!"

Everyone gasped. "Don't you dare speak about her like that!" I screamed at him. John put his hand on my shoulder to calm me down. John was surprisingly calm.

"Dad. You're embarrassing yourself. Just go."

Dad turned and I actually thought he was listening to John for once. But then, he turned and swung at John. He must have seen it coming because he ducked and managed to dodge it. I couldn't help but laugh. Dad heard me.

"You're just like your mother." He said to me, bitterly. I could see Andy stepping closer to me.

"I'm nothing like mom. I'm nothing like either of you. And neither is John. We would never hit our own kids. You disgust me, dad. Just go home."

He didn't like that. He pushed me over but Andy stopped me from falling. Andy, John and the shopkeeper all managed to get dad outside. I apologised to the guys for my dad and then went outside with the boys. The rest of the guys followed me.

 **John:** Dad was still shouting outside. He nearly hit Andy. The shopkeeper gave up and told us to deal with him, before walking back into his shop. I kept pushing him, hoping he would just leave and give up. But he wouldn't. He was swinging for me but he was so drunk he couldn't throw a good enough punch. He did catch me a couple of times; in my stomach and chest. He pulled his blade out and pointed it at me, but Jodi came behind us and managed to take it off him. Eventually, the cops turned up.

 **Jodi:** The shopkeeper must have phoned the police. I hid dads blade in my pocket. The police asked us if we knew him. I looked at John.

"Uh no sir, we were just going into the shop and he started shouting, so we tried to calm him down." John replied.

The policemen believed him. They handcuffed dad and put him in the back of the car while he was shouting all sorts of crap.

"Is he going to go to jail?" I asked.

"Probably not. We'll keep him for the night so he can sober up, and then give him a warning and let him go in the morning."

 **Andy:** We go back to Claire's at midnight. We had our food; mainly chips and candy, and discussed where we would sleep for the night. Claire and John wanted to sleep in Claire's room. Claire didn't want anyone sleeping in her parents room so Brian and Allison took her brothers room and me and Jodi slept downstairs.

I woke up and my watch said it was 3:30am. I looked around and couldn't see Jodi. I got worried at first but then I saw the French doors open. I walked outside and saw Jodi sat by the edge of the pool.

"Hey, what you doing out here? Got worried when I couldn't see you."

"Oh sorry. I didn't think you'd wake up, I was going to come in soon." She wiped her eyes, had she been crying?

"How long you been out here?"

"Couple hours."

"What? You woke up?"

"No. I didn't sleep. I'm not used to sleeping all night."

"Are you okay?" I moved closer to her and put my arm around her. She started crying so I hugged her tight.

"I'm sorry. I don't like crying."

"It's fine! Do you want to talk about it?" She stopped crying and turned to face me. She had her dads blade in her hand.

"You know, when I was little, before he started beating us, I used to be so impressed with this blade. He would carve sticks with it for me and John to play with. I remember this one time, I got a cable tie stuck around my finger and he used this knife to cut it off. And another time, John was climbing a tree and got stuck because his shoe lace was twisted around a branch. So dad cut it and pulled him down. And then things changed. It was just threats at first. I remember the first time he beat John. He was about seven and he came home 4 minutes late. 4 God damn minutes. So dad took his belt off and hit him four times. Even then John didn't cry, aged seven. I cried, I could see it and hear it from my bedroom. It became common from then on. Common for John anyway. I think I was around 7 as well when he first did it to me, but for me it was just a slap on the palm of my hand. When I was 9, it changed. That's when the blade came out. He said he was going to cut me because I asked for an eraser. I've been scared of this blade ever since then. And ironically, this was the blade he cut my hand with the other week." She stood up, and threw the blade as far as she could. I stood up with her and gave her the biggest hug possible.

"I'm so sorry", I said, "I had no idea it was that bad." I was nearly crying myself. She hugged me back and we sat down again.

Eventually, Jodi fell asleep in my arms. It was about 4:25am. I picked her up and carried her back inside. I placed her down on the floor where we were sleeping and noticed John sat on the sofa.

 **John:** "Hey John, how long you been there?" Andy asked.

"Long enough. I heard Jodi explaining everything to you."

"Oh right."

"Look Sporto can I talk to you?"

"Of course Bender."

"When we were younger, Jodi and I went to a counsellor and she wouldn't even tell the counsellor what she just told you. So you mean something to her alright, and I don't want you messing her about."

"John, I would never do anything to hurt Jodi. Honestly."

"Alright good. Because I'm going to be working quite a bit now, and she's going to need you around. She acts strong and pretends she doesn't need anyone, but she does okay. So please just look after her."

"Of course I will!"

"Thanks Sporto."

"Bender, you don't have to thank me, I'd look after her even if you didn't ask me to."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **Jodi:** _I was running around the garden with John when mom called me in. It was early, I didn't want to go in yet. But John told me I had too, because of what dad's been like lately. So I went in and told mom it wasn't fair that John got to stay out and I didn't. Last year she would have laughed and let me go back out but this time was different. She shouted at me and sent me to my room. I had nothing in my room that I could play with. I heard a knock on my window and saw John. He had a drawing pad and a pencil for me. I heard dad come home and mom sounded happier so I went out into the lounge. Mom told me to get back into my room but I ignored her and climbed on the kitchen counter so I could look in the draw for an eraser. I heard dad stomping behind me. He grabbed me and practically threw me to the floor. I looked up at him, scared. I knew what was coming. I moved into the corner. I was just sat there with my knees in my arms. I saw dad take his belt off. I closed my eyes. He hit me with it once and it caught my leg. I whimpered in pain. He grabbed my upper arm and pulled me up. He spun me around so that my back was facing him. He pushed me into the corner again and told me not to move. I was too scared to move. He hit me with his belt again, three times on my back. I was shouting for him to stop and that's when John came in. John shouted at him and he laughed. He just pulled out another cigarette and lit it, totally ignoring John. He spun me around again, John was still shouting so mom slapped him across the face in an attempt to shut him up. It didn't work. I looked at dad. I told him that I only wanted an eraser and he pulled out his blade and said he was going to cut me first and then John. John punched dad on his arm. It wasn't a great punch; John was only eleven and still a scrawny little thing. But still, it got dad's attention. He pointed the blade at John and then looked at me again. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and looked at it for a moment. Then he took one more drag, and pressed the end of the cigarette into my shoulder. I screamed. The pain was unreal. John shouted. Even mom looked shocked. John told me to run so I did, but mom caught me. She held me there and forced me to watch John and dad. I was wriggling and kicking but she wouldn't let me go. She just slapped me like she did to John. Dad approached John with the knife. Then he closed the knife and grabbed him. He pulled him over to the sofa and bent him over the side. He made my mother grab his belt and she did. He lifted the belt so high and then it came down on John's back. 11 times, one for each year of his life. I was shouting like crazy but John didn't make a sound. I could see his fists clenching up. As soon as dad stopped, John spun around and spat at him. Dad grabbed him again and got his knife back out. He held it to John's throat. He let go, threw John into his room, grabbed me off my mother and threw me into my room too. I was in shock, in pain, angry and upset all at once. The cigarette burn stung like crazy and my back was throbbing._

I woke up. Ever since that night in Claire's about a week ago, my nightmares have been worse. Well that's if you can call them nightmares, they were memories. I guess telling Andy brought everything back up. I mean, I felt better after telling him but now it's like they're fresh in my mind again. I touched my shoulder. It was scarred from the cigarette burn. It wasn't the only one I have either. I have two on my back, amongst other scars from his belt. It angered me thinking about the pain he's put John and I though over the years.

It was only 7:30; too early to wake John yet. So I sat up in bed and thought about Andy. I hadn't seen him much since that week; we've been in school and he's had a lot of wrestling practice. I just hope I didn't scare him off by telling him stuff about my dad. He seemed supportive but I wouldn't blame him if he didn't want anything to do with me anymore. It's a lot of heavy stuff, he shouldn't have to deal with my problems.

 **Andy:** This will be the first day I can actually see Jodi at lunch for about a week. I've had so much wrestling practice and studying to do I haven't really seen her much. I hope she doesn't think I'm leaving her. Anyway, I'm going to surprise her today. I passed my driving test on the weekend so now my dad's letting take our pick up truck to school. It's quite a big pick up; three people can fit in the front, three people in the back, and then there's a large bed to out any luggage on.

So I pulled up outside Jodi and John's place at around 8:10 I wanted to get there before they left. So I waited outside for them. They were so surprised when they saw me. Jodi sat next to me, and John sat next to her. Then we picked up Allison, Brian and Claire and they climbed in the back.

 **Allison:** "Hey Andy, this would be awesome to take camping one day" I said.

"Oh yes! That would be so cool!" Jodi agreed with me.

"That is a good idea actually. I'll ask my dad about it" Andy said.

 **Jodi:** Having that nightmare has really ruined my mood. I didn't feel like going to first period so I went to sit under the bleachers. I stayed there for most of the day. I was surprised that no one was here. People usually skip class all the time. I lit up a cigarette and it helped me calm down. Just as I was taking a drag, I heard someone whispering. Suddenly, two kids walked around the corner and sat under the bleachers with me. They must have only been in the seventh grade.

One of them looked at me. "Hey. It's uh Jodi right?" He asked me.

Hah. I guess John and I did have a bit of a reputation here. "What d'you want?" I replied.

"Have you got any um, any dope?" He whispered the last word.

I laughed. "You want dope huh? You're like what, 13/14? You don't want to messing with it."

"Yeah well you're only 15."

"Yeah, and look how I turned out. You really wanna be spending nearly every Saturday in detention? Getting blamed daily for things you didn't do just because you've got a reputation? You do what you want but I for sure ain't giving you dope."

"Fine. Can we have a cigarette instead?"

"You smoked before?" They both nodded but I didn't believe them. "Alright then" I said. I offered them the pack and they took one each. I threw the lighter at them. "Light up." I said, taking another drag of my own. It was relaxing. I watched them fumble around with the lighter and then eventually light them. They both took a drag too deep and started coughing instantly. I laughed.

Suddenly, Vernon came out. "Fuck" I said. The kids look at me and I put my cigarette out. They did they same and gave me the lighter back. It was too late. He had seen us. Vernon dragged the two boys into his office and made me wait outside. While I was waiting, I lit another cigarette. I didn't do it to purposely annoy Vernon, I did it because it was my last one and I knew he would confiscate it otherwise. He opened the door and sent the boys back to class just as I finishing my cigarette. He looked at me so I blew smoke right into his face before dropping it to the floor and using my foot to put it out. He made me pick it up and put it in the bin in his office. I sat down but he told me to stand up again so I did.

"Giving cigarettes to seventh graders?!" He shouted.

"They nagged me."

"I've been nagging you to behave since you got here and that hasn't made a difference." I laughed. "You think this is funny Bender?"

"Well have you ever seen two seventh graders light up for the first time sir? It's pretty hilarious if you ask me."

He shook his head. "I want you to apologise to those kids' parents."

"No."

"You made them smoke Jodi! You have got to apologise."

"What am I meant to say? I'm sorry your kid is going around begging older kids for dope and cigarettes?"

"You gave them dope?!"

"No! They begged me for dope and I told them that if they took it they would turn out like me!" I shouted. Vernon looked at me. I think I touched a nerve there. I paced the room before sweeping a pile off books off a filing cabinet.

"You need to control your anger. Go home Bender. Fresh start tomorrow. One more mistake and you're with me on Saturday." He got up and opened the door for me. I looked at him, confused. I walked away wondering how on Earth I had managed to escape detention.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Jodi:** I didn't want to go home. I knew that mom and dad would be there and have stuff to say about me being home so early. So after buying more cigarettes at the off licence, I went and stood outside Andy's class. I managed to get his attention and he must have asked to go to the toilet because he came out with a hall pass. I explained to him what had happened and he gave me the guys to his pick up. I couldn't drive, he was just giving me them to sit in his car out of the way.

Eventually the end of the day came and the rest of the guys piled into the car. John went to Claire's so it was just me and Andy left in the car.

"You sure you don't wanna come to mine?" He asked.

"No it's fine. You need to study."

"I have plenty of time for that Jodi. Are you mad at me?"

"What? No of course not, I kinda thought you were mad at me."

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because of all the shit with my dad. You shouldn't have to deal with it."

"I don't have to, I want to. I want to help you okay."

"Okay." I smiled and got out of the car, waving to Andy as I walked into my house.

 **John:** I came home at 6, Claire needed to study and I was meant to go to work at 8. I walked straight into an argument with mom and Jodi. They were both shouting at each other, I couldn't work out what it was about. Suddenly, dad walked in. He slammed the door shut, stumbling in with a bottle of whisky in his hand. Great. Here we go again.

 **Jodi:** Mom and I stopped arguing when dad came in. We all looked at him. He walked up to mom and told her to make him food. She said there was nothing here and he slapped her across the face.

"Stop it!" I shouted.

He turned his attention to me. He walked towards me but John pushed him out of the way before he could do anything.

 **John:** After I pushed him he came up to me and stared at me. His face was so close to mine. We just stood there for a moment before I pushed him out of the way. He threw his bottle against the wall. It shattered and the smell of whisky filled the room. He pushed me up against the wall and Jodi tried to pull him away. He shrugged her off and mom slapped her in the face. Dad punched me in the stomach and let go of me. I sank to the floor.

 **Jodi:** Dad turned back to me but there was a loud knock at the door. We all just stood there at first but the knock continued. I walked over to the door and opened it. Two policemen stood there looking at me. They said that they were called by neighbours about a 'disturbance'. They must have phoned when me and mom were shouting. I told the policemen to come in and they followed me into the lounge. John was sat on the floor against the wall, dad was stood in front of him, and mom was stood in the doorway of the kitchen. They could see the glass all over the floor. Our house probably smelt like dope and alcohol. One policeman asked to speak to dad while the other one helped John up, making sure he was okay. I could hear dad talking to the policeman, he was getting angry. The policeman searched him and must have found something on him because he ended up arresting him. While dad was being handcuffed, mom started screaming and the other policeman had to restrain her. I stood by John and he put his arm around my shoulders. The policemen called for back up and told us everything was going to be okay **.**

 **John:** Two more policemen arrived with some woman. They put mom and dad in a police car each and then came to talk to us. They explained that dad was being arrested but mom was just going with them for 'further enquiries'. The woman said she was a social worker.

"What are your names and how old are you guys?" She asked, with a forced smile.

Jodi looked at me. "I'm John and she's Jodi, I'm 17, she's 15."

"Okay well because you're both under 18, you can't stay by yourselves tonight-"

"Can't we stay with a friend?" Jodi interrupted her.

"Uh no. I'm sorry, you're going to have to go and stay with an emergency foster family tonight, and then tomorrow we'll discuss a short term placement."

We both looked at her and then at each other.

"I know this is strange but it's what has to happen," she looked at Jodi, "there's no need to be scared."

"She's not scared. She's pissed off." I said.

 **Jodi:** The woman told us to pack a small bag of 'essentials' for tonight, we could come back and get more tomorrow. All my stuff was essential. I didn't have a lot, neither of us did. I picked my school bag up and emptied my books out of it. I searched my box of clothes and found a clean set of clothes and underwear. I shoved them into my bag and opened my bedside cabinet. In the first draw was my favourite lighter, 2 emergency cigarettes, and a small bag of dope; only enough for one joint. I put them all into a plastic bag and rammed that into my school bag, hiding it under a t shirt. In the middle draw, there was my sketchbook and a pencil. I debated taking these for a while but I didn't really have room, and I'd be coming back tomorrow. So I opened the third and final draw. This draw looked empty because there was a fake bottom to it. I removed the fake bottom and found my most precious things. A family photo from before things went bad, a photo of me and John about a year ago, a photo of all of us from Claire's house party. I moved them and looked through the rest of the stuff. I picked up a sock monkey. It was old and worn but it had so many memories. It was given to John by a neighbour on his second birthday. Later that day, when I was brought home from hospital less than a day old, John gave it to me. And I've kept it ever since. The woman asked if I was ready so I told her I'd be one minute. I put the sock monkey in my bag and grabbed one last thing out of the draw. A t shirt Andy gave me, it was huge on me but I loved it. So it went in my bag and I walked back into the lounge. John and the woman were waiting for me. She told us her name was Diane before leading us to her car. The police had gone but some of our neighbours were still outside, eager to know our business. We drove off and I looked back at our house. Please let everything work out alright.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **John:** We sat in the car for about 15 minutes to get to this emergency foster home. It was a big house, and when we pulled up outside a couple walked out to greet us. I didn't like them. They were overly nice.

 **Jodi:** We were introduced to the family. The parents were called Burt and Susan. They had three kids; two girls and a boy. There was Billy who was 13, Janet who was 11 and Samantha who was 7. We were shown to our rooms for the night. John had to share with Billy while I had the quest room.

The guest room was really plain. The walls, ceiling and floor were all beige. All the furniture was brown and the bedding was pale grey. I dumped my bag on the bed and heard Burt calling John and I. We went downstairs and they told us to sit around the table so reluctantly we did so.

"Right then guys. I know you're only here for tonight but we still have some house rules you need to follow" Burt told us.

"House rules?" John asked.

"Yes. I'll start with the main ones. No smoking, no alcohol, no drugs. If you have any of these I want you to bring them down now. Also, lights out is at 9pm."

"Lights out?" I asked.

"Yes, that's the time you have to go to sleep."

I laughed, stood up and walked upstairs. John followed me.

 **John:** I couldn't sleep properly all night; this Billy kid did not stop snoring. I hope to God this short term placement is better. I mean, this whole thing is bullshit. I've looked after Jodi all her life, I should be the one to look after her now, not some lousy foster family.

The next morning, I walked downstairs. All the kids were sat around the table with Burt. Susan and Jodi were nowhere to be seen. Burt must have seen the confusion on my face. "Susan and Jodi are outside, uh, having a chat" Burt told me.

As I sat down next to the other kids, Susan and Jodi walked in. Jodi was pissed off, I could tell. Susan told the others to go get ready for school so they left. Burt started talking to Susan, quietly.

"What was that all about?" I whispered to Jodi.

"I came down in the middle of the night for a smoke outside, and she followed me down. She was stood there waiting for me when I came back in" she replied.

"Was she a bitch about it?"

"Half and half."

 **Jodi:** Susan interrupted our conversation. "Right guys. Change of plan." She announced.

"What?" I asked.

"Well I've spoken to your social worker and they haven't yet found a suitable placement, so you're going to go to school as normal, Burt will pick you up-"

"No thanks, we'll have a lift with Andy."

"Um who's Andy?"

"My boyfriend, John's friend."

"Okay then, well you'll come back here and then your social worker will come to speak to you."

"Whatever." I got up and left.

That day in school went by slowly. I guess I just couldn't stop thinking about everything. Andy was so understanding though, and that meant a lot.

Eventually, the end of the day came and Andy took us 'home'. Ugh I hate this place. Our social worker was there waiting for us; sat around the table with Burt and Susan. I couldn't hear their kids and it just made me think that maybe they've got them out of the house on purpose. John and I took a seat around the table. Our social worker smiled that forced smile at us again. I don't know why but I could just sense that something bad was going to happen.

"Okay. Now, John and Jodi, as you know I've been looking for a short term placement for you both. So, since we met last night, my team and I have been discussing possible placements. We have found somewhere for you, but I'm afraid you won't be together."

"WHAT?!" John and I both shot up out of our chairs.

"Look I'm sorry but it's for the best. It's done with now, you can't change the decision."

"No. Fuck that. I'm not going to live with some random fucking family without my brother. No I'm not doing it. I'm not going."

The social worker stood up and put her hand on my shoulder. I lost it. All this built up anger has got to come out now.

I shrugged her hand off me and sweeped the things off the table. It's all a blur really. I was shouting and swearing. All the adults were telling me to cool down. John was telling them to shut up. John joined in with me. I don't care if I have to act like a three year old having a tantrum, I am not going anywhere without John. Suddenly, the door burst open and the police charged in. The social worker didn't look surprised. She had this all worked out. The police grabbed John and told him to calm down. John was shouting for them to get their hands off hm but they wouldn't, they just dragged him away. The social worker handed one of them a piece of paper with an address on. I tried to run after him but Burt pulled me back and restrained me. The door closed and I heard the police car drive away. I stopped fighting and told Burt to get off me. He did. The social worker put her hand on my arm again and told me to get my bag. "Don't fucking touch me. You've done enough." I told her. I grabbed my bag and followed her out of the door and into her car.

 **John:** I can't believe they've done this. First they make us leave our home and then they split us up? Fuck them if they think I'm staying here. Not a chance.

 **Jodi:** This new family is even worse than Burt and Susan. They're called Jemima and Bob, and they have a six year old son called Jackson. Their house is huge but you're pretty much not allowed to touch anything. They've searched my bag and taken my dope and cigarettes off me. I swore at them and they've practically locked me in my new room. It's Saturday tomorrow so they're taking me to get the rest of my stuff.

 **John:** I hope Jodi's house is better than mine. This is terrible. I hate it. I sat in my room. It was all old fashioned. If Jodi was here she'd make some funny comment about it. I need to find where she is, I need to make sure she's alright. I looked out of the window, the garage roof was just below. I climbed outside and sat on the roof, lit a cigarette and thought about stuff. Jodi, Claire, even mom and dad. Argh. This whole situation angered me. I want to just run away and find the guys but I haven't even got a clue where I am.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **Jodi:** That weekend was horrible. I didn't get to see John. The only good thing about it was that I managed to get more dope from my house. All of the rest of my stuff is here now. But I'm already grounded apparently. I was playing with my lighter in my room and Jemima walked in. She gave me a fright and I dropped the lighter, burning the curtains while it fell. It was Monday morning, around 7:30. I could hear people downstairs so I went down. Jackson was sat at the table eating pancakes. Next to him was another plate of pancakes. Bob noticed me and told me to eat them. I wasn't used to having food cooked for, heck I wasn't used to having cooked food at all. I ate slowly, and I noticed two brown paper bags on the countertop. Jackson's name was written on one and my name was written on the other. Again, Bob noticed me looking at them. He jokingly said "haven't you ever had lunch made for you before!" But when I shook my head his expression changed.

"I'm giving you a lift to school today and I'll pick you up later afterwards." Bob said.

"No. I'm seeing John and Andy later."

"Jodi, you're grounded. You can see them on the weekend maybe."

"Look, you can take me to school if it means that much to you, but trust me I will not be there if you come to pick me up. So don't bother wasting your time."

So Bob took me to school. All the guys were waiting for me. I gave John the biggest hug ever and Andy the biggest kiss ever. I don't care if it's only been a weekend, I've missed this bunch of misfits so God damn much.

 **Andy:** We all skipped last period. I just wanted to spend time with Jodi. After school had finished, Claire, Brian, Allison and I called in our houses before coming back out with Jodi and John. We stayed out till about 10:30pm. John and Jodi wanted to see how far away they were from each other; turns out they're about a 15 minute walk away. I walked Jodi home. She's actually closer to my house now as I only live about half a block away.

 **Jodi:** When I got home, Bob and Jemima were sat in the lounge waiting for me. They were majorly pissed off at the time I was home. They lectured me about how I was grounded anyway so shouldn't have been going out. They said that time spent with John was meant to be arranged through my social worker. They just went on and on at me. Jeez, it was making me miss being home. Obviously I didn't miss how my mom and dad would treat me, but I missed my freedom. Being able to stay out till whenever I wanted, go wherever I wanted, and meet whoever I wanted. Bob told me that tomorrow morning he would be taking me to school and picking me up afterwards. I said I was fine with it but I have other plans. No way is he bringing me home just to ground me again.

I went upstairs to my room and sat on the bed for a moment. What the heck am I meant to do now? I walked towards the window, wondering if I could climb out like I used to do at home. I looked out, it was quite a big drop, much bigger than the drop from my window at home. There was a drainpipe to the side of the window though, so maybe I could get down that way. I leaned over and shook the drainpipe. It was really shakey and didn't exactly feel safe.

I rummaged around in my bag and found my cigarettes. I lit one and took a deep drag. I felt a bit more relaxed now. I packed my bag up, put it on my back and walked towards the open window. I sat on the windowsill and took another drag of my cigarette. Okay, I can do this. I held the cigarette in my mouth and slowly edged my way over to the drainpipe. I reach over and grabbed it with one hand. I moved my legs over to it and grabbed it with my other hand. So here I was, dangling from the drainpipe. Great. I hadn't thought this through enough. I shimmied down the pipe, but as I got about half way down, I realised that the pipe didn't actually go all the way down the floor. It just cut off half way. Shit. I tried to climb back up the pipe but I couldn't. I spat my cigarette out onto the floor and took a deep breath before jumping off the pipe. I crashed onto the floor. Fuck. That hurt. I landed on my back so my bag softened the fall slightly. But I hurt my ankle pretty bad. Eventually, I managed to pull myself up and limp down the street.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 **John:** The past three weeks have been strange. Jodi ran away from her foster home and fractured her ankle. She went back to stay with Bob and Jemima and I was finally moved back with her. She gets her cast off next week but until then she's on crutches.

 **Jodi:** It was a Friday. John and I sat in the lounge, just talking after a day in school. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. It was our social worker. She came in to speak to us. She explained that neither mom or dad were charged when they were arrested, so they've been back home for weeks now. She went on to say that our dad was seeking help with drugs and alcohol and that our home has been assessed. She said she would take us back home tomorrow, permanently.

I didn't know how to feel about it. I was glad to get away from Jemima and Bob, but I didn't want dad to start beating us again. I didn't believe that he's changed. Men like him never change.

 **John:** This social worker didn't waste any time; 9am the next day she was driving us home. I was sat in the front passenger seat with Jodi sat behind me. We were nearly home and she hadn't said a word all the way. I reached my right hand back and tapped her knee. I could see her in the mirror; she held my hand and I squeezed it gently, making her smile. I hope she's alright. She must be thinking the same as me. As soon as we go back home things will be exactly like they were before.

 **Jodi:** John entered the house first, followed by me on my crutches with the social worker behind me. Mom and dad were sat in the lounge, waiting for us. They both stood up when they saw us. Mom came running towards me.

"Oh Jodi! What on earth happened to your leg?!" Her voice was filled with fake concern. John could sense it too, but our social worker was none the wiser.

"I fell." I muttered.

"Okay well I'll just leave you guys to catch up, goodbye!" Our social worker said as she left. Great. We're alone.

Mom and dad sat back down. "Johnny boy! Get me a beer yeah?!" Dad shouted. Reluctantly, John handed him a beer from the fridge. I noticed there was actually some food in the fridge for once. This then made me realise that the house had been cleaned. Wow, they really made an effort to get us back. Not because they want us though, probably because they don't want us to tell everyone what they do to us.

John and I kept our heads down around the house for a few weeks. Dad had some dodgy job that made him work strange hours so we could never judge when he would be home. John was also working quite a bit; I suppose it gave him an excuse to get out of the house. Andy came over quite a lot too, usually through my bedroom window. He even took me to go get my cast off; my leg had healed fine.

School was boring as usual. John and I had both had a few detentions each, some together. But neither of them had been as good as that time when Andy, Claire and Brian snuck into school to see us. We had all been hanging around a lot more recently since our midterms were over. Brian and I aced ours, Claire and Andy got mainly Bs, and John and Allison just about managed to pass the majority of theirs.

Next week is my birthday, and John's of course. I'll be 16, John will be 18 and a few days later Andy will turn 17. Since all three of our birthdays are close together, we've planned to go camping the weekend after, which just so happens to be the start of spring break.

We had everything planned. Andy was going to borrow his dad's car and take us all camping straight after school the day after his birthday. We would drive out until we got fed up, and then pick a spot to camp. We would camp for about two weeks unless we decide to come home early. It's going to be great.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **Jodi:** I woke up. It was a Monday. My birthday. John's birthday. I got out of bed and quietly went into the bathroom to have a wash and brush my teeth. Then, I walked back into my room and grabbed John's birthday presents. They weren't much, but the things we bought each other were kind of a tradition now. I had bought him a huge bottle of vodka and three boxes of cigarettes. I taped the cigarettes to the vodka and then turned to the remaining present. I had bought him a huge chocolate cake with "John 18 Today" iced in blue. I walked into John's bedroom, woke him up and gave him his presents. He hugged me and we laughed for a while, before John pulled out his pocket knife and cut us each a slice of cake for breakfast.

 **John:** I gave Jodi her usual presents; a new sketch book and a pack of good quality drawing pencils. This year, since she's 16, I've bought her a little extra. It's a bit cheesy but I found all of our childhood photos and put them in a photo album along with new photos of all of our gang together. She loved it.

 **Andy:** I bought Jodi some really fancy paints for her birthday. I wasn't really sure what to get but she said she really liked them. A few days later, it was my birthday. I wasn't expecting a lot from Jodi because obviously she doesn't have much money at all. The fact she was with me for my birthday was enough for me. But, she surprised me. She bought me a cake similar to John's and a small bundle of stuff for my car. Including a dancing hula lady for the dashboard. Brilliant.

The next day, I got my pick up truck ready and went to pick everyone up. We had all finished early from school so we went to our own homes to get our stuff. I threw my bags in the back, closed the truck and went to pick them up.

 **Jodi:** Andy picked us all up and we all put our bags and stuff in the back of the truck. This was going to be great. Andy drove so we pulled over a few times to have a break. At around 7:30pm we decided to find a spot to camp before it got dark. We parked the pick up out of the way, and walked for a little while down a small slope. We carried our bags and tents with us. Eventually, we reached this surprisingly large clearing under a cliff. There was a shallow river and plenty of room to camp. We all agreed that this had to be the spot.

The boys tried to set the tents up while I went with Allison and Claire to collect wood to make a campfire. By the time we got back the boys had only managed to set one tent up. We had three; one for me and Andy, one for John and Claire, and one for Allison and Brian. We gave the guys a hand with the tents and eventually we got them all sorted. We arranged them so that they were in a sort of triangle, so that we can sit outside our tents and be around the campfire which would be in the middle.

 **Brian:** I was quite nervous to come camping. I'd only ever been camping with my family before. They think I'm at some math camp right now. But, I get to share a tent with Allison, which is good. We've been getting a lot closer lately. I think she might even like me. No, who am I kidding. She would never like me like that. She's just being a friend. Or is she? Gee I really wish I was better at this. I mean Andy and John are so much more confident than me when it comes to girls. Why can't I be like that? I'd love to know exactly what Allison thought of me.

 **Claire:** We had brought some food with us and began to cook it once we had the campfire sorted. The weather was good too, so everything was perfect. We all laughed and talked and just had a good time. We were all singing and eating s'mores. It was good to see Brian enjoying himself too; I think he's still a bit shy sometimes. All of our lives have changed since meeting John and Jodi. They've shown us a different way of living, a better way. It's crazy though; principal Vernon always said you couldn't get worse than the Benders. But, considering everything they go through on a daily basis, they're really not that bad. I mean, Jodi is a straight-A student. And John, well John's just great. I used to think he was a self-centered moron, but he really cares about all of us. Especially Jodi, the bond they have is incredible.

 **Jodi:** Eventually, we decided to call it a night. We have to go get some more food tomorrow. So we let the campfire start to die out and all went into our tents. I was zipping up ours when Andy grabbed me from behind and rolled me towards him before giving me a huge kiss.

"Hey!" I shouted playfully, "what was that for?"

"For being amazing." He kissed me again.

"Well aren't you cute."

"Jodi?"

"Yeah?"

"I um, I think I uh, I think I love you."

"I think I love you too."

 **Allison:** Brian had been smiling at me all night. I don't know of it's a coincidence or if he does feel the same as me. Here we were, sat in our tent, alone. We were talking but all I can think about is how much I like him. I decided I need to make the first move. I took a deep breath and leaned in to kiss him. I expected him to pull away and tell me to get off him, but he didn't. He kissed me back.

 **Brian:** Oh my gosh. Allison kissed me. My insides felt like they exploded. I was so happy. This camping trip is going to be amazing.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

 **John:** Waking up next to Claire is great. She looks flawless. She was still sleeping when I woke up so I quietly went to sit outside the tent to have a cigarette. Jodi was outside her tent too, doing the same. Soon enough, the rest of the guys woke up. We didn't have much food left and we were all hungry. But, Claire and Allison managed to warm up some beans for us.

 **Jodi:** "We need more food guys. Did anyone notice a shop nearby?" I asked. Everyone shook their heads.

"I guess we're just gonna have to drive on until we find something. There's gotta be a gas station or something around here." Andy said.

"Yeah that's true. Someone's gotta stay here though so we need to work out who's gonna go with you to get food." John said. We all nodded in agreement.

"Well I don't mind staying." Brian said.

"Neither do I." Said Allison.

"Alright then, you two can stay here and start the fire up again and we'll go get some food?" I suggested. Everyone agreed so that's what we did.

 **Andy:** We must have drove on for about an hour until we finally found a gas station. We went in and bought as much food as we could; chips, snacks, tinned stuff, some fruit, and even some fresh chicken we could cook on the fire. Before we left I filled the tank up with gas from one of the jerry cans we brought with us. Then we all climbed back into the truck and drove off.

 **Brian:** I'm glad that Allison took my hint and stayed here with me while the others went out. We lit the campfire up with the lighter that Jodi left behind for us. Once it was lit, we sat by the river and just talked it was really nice.

 **Allison:** I dipped my feet in the river. It was quite warm so I stood up in it. Then I grabbed Brian's hands and pulled him up. We ran and splashed in the river like children. It was really nice, being alone with Brian. He understood me more than the others, and after last night I hope something could happen between us in the future. I'd love that. I just hope it's what Brian wants too.

 **Andy:** We were about 15 minutes away from where we were camping and we were driving down a one way road. We were nearly back on the main road when suddenly this huge truck drove towards us. Oh shit.

 **Claire:** John and I were sat in the back while Andy and Jodi were in the front. We were laughing at John singing along to the radio. Andy shouted something. I looked and there was a huge truck driving up the one way road towards us. I thought we were going to die.

 **John:** Fuck. I grabbed Claire who was next to me and held onto Jodi's shoulder in front of me. That truck would flatten Andy's pick up in seconds. Shit.

 **Jodi:** I felt John holding onto my shoulder and everything seemed to go in slow motion. I held onto the dashboard with one hand and Andy's leg with the other hand. I closed my eyes. We all screamed.

 **Andy:** Therewas another huge truck behind us. We're going to get crushed between them. Oh my God. This cannot be happening to us. A million thoughts went through my mind in a split second. I felt Jodi hold onto my leg. I tried my best. I frantically turned the wheel and accelerated; desperate to save us all. I couldn't help but close my eyes. I heard screaming, tires screeching and a huge crash. Is this it for us?


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

 **Jodi:** I opened my eyes. It took me a second or two to realise where we were. Andy had managed to swerve off the road so we were in a little ditch. Oh thank God. I looked around, we were all fine.

 **John:** I couldn't help but laugh at how crazy that was. "Good job Sporto. You saved us from that fucking idiot." I patted Andy on the back.

"Oh John I thought we were going to die!" Claire hugged me.

"I literally thought we were going to be crushed. Fuck." Andy said.

"I need a cigarette." Jodi said before she got out of the car.

I did too so I got out of the car with her, followed by Andy and Claire.

 **Andy:** I checked my pick up for any damage. It was fine. And with a little bit of help we should be able to get it out of this ditch. "Car's fine" I told the guys, as Jodi and John each had a cigarette.

 **Claire:** When Andy said his car was fine I remembered I heard a crash. We couldn't see the road from where we were so I walked up a bit. I called the guys over. The two huge trucks and crashed head on into each other. Two men ran towards us.

"We saw the crash!" They shouted, "Is everyone here okay?"

"We're all fine thank you." Andy reassured them.

"Okay good. Looks like you guys had a lucky escape. Both the truck drivers are unconscious, paramedics are there now. Police will be here soon too so you may wanna come up here. They'll wanna talk to you."

 **Jodi:** We followed the men out of the ditch and up to the road. By the time we got there, the police were turning up. The paramedics got the guy out of the truck that was behind us and put him into the ambulance, the other truck driver was conscious and being checked over on the side of the road. The paramedics wanted to check us over too but we refused. The police spoke to us and took our names and addresses. Then, they towed Andy's car out of the ditch and back onto the road. Finally, we were able to go.

 **Andy:** We got back to our camp to find Brian and Allison making out under the cliff. I coughed to get their attention and they jumped. We all laughed and told them it was fine. Then, we explained about the crash. They were shocked to hear it.

We made some food and then all splashed around in the river. It was so fun. The sun was blaring so it was nice to be able to cool off. Suddenly, we heard a dog barking and whining. It wasn't very loud and didn't sound as if it was very old either. We walked up the river, towards the sound. Jodi and I were in front of the others. We walked for about 10 minutes or maybe less, when Jodi spotted something to the side of the river. We all tried to run over to it. Jodi got there first and then I did. There was a tiny puppy wrapped up in a black garbage bag. Jodi unwrapped it and picked it up. She turned to me, "It's a little boy puppy, can we keep him?" She looked so hopeful, like a young child. I looked at the others and shrugged their shoulders.

"Well I guess we can keep him while we're here, and if no one comes to find him you can take him home?" I looked at the others again and they nodded in agreement.

 **Jodi:** This puppy was so cute. I think he's a boxer dog. He only looks about 8 maybe 10 weeks old. I decided to name him Bear. I don't really know why, it's just the name that seemed right for him. We all played with him for most of the evening. At around midnight, when we decided to go to bed, Andy handed me a piece of rope and helped me to make some kind of collar and lead for him. We tied him up by a rock and made sure it was secure. Then, we went to bed.

"You really like Bear don't you?" Andy asked me.

"I used to have a dog when I was little." I replied.

"Oh yeah? What happened?"

"Dad sold him."

"Why?"

"John got a bad report card."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's no ones fault except for dad's."

"Hey, you know I'm here right, if you ever want to talk about it. It might help?"

"When he sold the dog, that's when I really started to hate him. Every time he had beaten me before that, I had an excuse to leave. I would just walk the dog. The dog stopped him hitting us sometimes too, he'd growl or bark at him. It was a Friday. John handed dad his report card. John was happy with it, he's never been good at school. I think he had mainly Cs and two D+s this time. Dad wasn't happy. He beat John first. Then he sold the dog. John was thrown and locked into his room for the weekend. I hid in bed but dad called me out. He made me stand in the lounge while he sat there watching some film on TV. He forced me to watch the film, it was horrible and gruesome, especially for a child. I was crying but he wouldn't let me leave. He was smoking a cigarette and didn't have an ashtray close enough. He gave me two new scars that night. I was forced to sit there in the lounge for the whole next day. Mom was passed out in bed. Saturday night was the same. He made me drink a bottle of beer. A whole bottle, I was a kid for fuck sake! I was sick straight after finishing it even though I hadn't eaten for nearly two days straight. He laughed and burnt me on my back again. I screamed. John broke his bedroom door and came running out. He helped me up and put me to bed. I can remember laying there, listening to them shouting at each other. I was petrified."

I broke down. This was one of my worst memories. I started crying and couldn't stop. Andy didn't say anything. He pulled me into his arms and held me tightly. He was almost cradling me, like you do with a baby. I held onto him and cried and cried until I fell asleep, still in his arms.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author note: this chapter does contain sexual content, please skip to the next chapter if not comfortable :)**

 **Chapter 17**

 **Andy:** The next few days were uneventful. Soon enough it was the weekend again. Wow it did not feel like we had been here a week already. Bear was still with us, no one had come looking for him. He was growing quick and we all loved him.

We had gotten into a bit of a routine while camping. Jodi and John always woke up first so they would make breakfast for everyone. We would have a wash and sometimes a swim in the river, and Brian would make lunch. We all chipped in to make dinner every night. When we needed more food, a few of us or all of us would take Bear and walk to the shop. It took a couple of hours usually but the weather was good so no one minded.

 **Jodi:** It was Sunday. This time next week we would be on our way home. I lay on a large flat rock in the river. It was so warm; I was boiling in only shorts and a tube top. The sound of the water running over the smaller rocks next to me was relaxing. I rolled over onto my stomach and placed my hand in the water. I was dreading going home next week.

 **Andy:** I stayed up late with Jodi last night, just talking. She's used to not sleeping so she was fine this morning, but I wasn't. John, Claire, Allison and Brian were going to take Bear for a walk and to get some food. Jodi was sunbathing, so I went for a nap. I woke up, unzipped the tent and stretched in the sun. I noticed that Jodi was the only one here, so I didn't bother getting dressed. I walked towards her. She looked beautiful laying on a rock in the middle of the river. It looked magical; as the rock was higher than the rest, the water just went around it instead of over the top.

I walked towards her, wearing only my boxer shorts. I reached the river and walked through it. Jodi must have heard me; she turned over and sat up, smiling when she saw me. I approached the rock and stood in front of it. Jodi leaned towards me and we shared a kiss. It didn't seem like a normal kiss. It was special, as if something was about to happen.

 **Jodi:** Andy picked me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him again. My hands ran through his hair. He moved his hands down and placed them on my butt. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he started to walk through the river, still holding me. Andy tripped, and we both fell into the river. We laughed. He was looking into my eyes, I had never seen him look at me like this before. I was sat on his lap, facing him. I ran my fingers up and down his bare back and kissed him again.

 **Andy:** Jodi was driving me crazy. I love her so much. I could feel myself getting turned on so I stood up, putting Jodi over my shoulder. She giggled and squealed with excitement. She wiggled her legs and pretended to struggle. I laughed and walked towards our tent. We got inside and I placed her down on her back. I zipped up the tent and asked Jodi how much time we had, she said that the guys had only been gone half an hour, maybe less. Good. Plenty of time.

I placed each of my hands on our bed, above her shoulders. I reached my leg over hers and looked down at her. She's gorgeous. Her tube top and shorts left her stomach revealed. I gently kissed her neck and down her stomach, it was still warm from the sun. She wrapped her arms around my neck again and pulled my face down to hers. She kissed me.

"Do you want to do this?" I whispered into her ear. She nodded. "Are you sure?"

"Please. Don't make me wait" she muttered.

 **Jodi:** I need this. Andy is the most perfect human being on the planet and I love him with all of my heart. The waiting was killing me. I could feel his erection through his boxer shorts. He gently pulled off my shorts and my panties, before kissing me again. He moved his hands up and slowly removed my tube top. He seemed surprised that I wasn't wearing a bra underneath. I took his boxer shorts off and threw them next to my clothes. Andy moved to the side of me and pulled me up to face him. We both lay there, on our sides, naked and kissing. He pulled me closer. I was running my hands through his hair while his hands touched every part of my body. He asked me again if I was ready. I told him I was. This was the first time for both of us.

 **Andy:** I picked my wallet up from beside me and found the condom inside. I ripped open the foil pocket and put the condom on. This felt right with Jodi. I've had girlfriends before but they've never made me feel the way that Jodi does. I rolled Jodi back onto her back and got on top of her. I placed my hands on top of hers and our fingers locked together. I put our hands back above Jodi's shoulders and gave her a huge kiss. I slowly moved my hips up towards her and pushed myself into her. It felt strange, tight.

 **Jodi:** It felt a bit weird and uncomfortable at first. I wrapped my legs around his arched back and pulled him down to me. Andy pushed himself further into me and I felt a pop. It was instantly more comfortable. We both let out a moan and quickly got into the rhythm of things.

 **Andy:** I lay next to Jodi, with my arm wrapped around her. I kissed her head and she smiled. That was so good. Jodi looked up at me. "I love you" she whispered.

I smiled. "I love you too".

We heard a bark in the distance. We quickly threw on some clothes and sat around the unlit campfire, waiting for the guys.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

 **Brian:** I picked up my last few things and shoved them into my bag, before giving Allison a kiss. We were dating now, and everybody knew it. She made me so happy. It was Sunday, we had just eaten breakfast and now we were all getting ready to leave. This camping trip has been brilliant, but we have to go back to school tomorrow.

 **John:** I sat on the huge rock in the middle of the river; Jodi was right, this is a good spot. I looked back at our campsite. Andy had just taken down his tent, Claire and Allison were taking down mine, while Brian and Jodi were sorting our food out. Bear ran by their feet. We all decided last night that Jodi should take him back to ours.

 **Jodi:** After we packed up, we chilled in the river for a little while. John and Andy were showing off and doing back flips off the rocks. I was playing in the river with Bear; getting him to swim by throwing sticks for him to fetch. I don't want to go home.

 **Allison:** We all walked to the car and crammed inside. Our bags were in the back off the truck, along with Bear. Jodi had tied his rope lead up to make sure we didn't fall or jump out. Claire had found a relatively new baseball on our walk to the car and gave it to Bear to keep him occupied. We were all ready to go.

 **Claire:** This camping trip was so much better than I expected. We all bonded so well, especially Jodi and Andy. She told me what had happened between them. It made me feel like a big sister to her. John had found out too; as a friend he said well done to Andy, but as a brother he told Andy not to mess Jodi around. He's so protective of her. I find it sweet.

 **Andy:** It was a long drive home. It was so warm we had to take regular stops. But, eventually, we got home. I dropped Brian off first, he had an assignment to finish. Then it was Allison, then Claire. Finally, we reached Jodi and John's house. John got their stuff off the back, while I said goodbye to Jodi. I knew I'd see her tomorrow but I miss her as soon as I'm not with her. Jodi took Bear off John and together, they walked towards their house.

 **Jodi:** I went around the side and tied Bear up outside of my bedroom window. I didn't know if dad would be home and I knew he wouldn't approve of Bear. We walked inside. It was dark, cold. The familiar stench of various drugs and alcohol made my stomach knot. John closed the door and I lead the way through the house. Glass cracked beneath my feet as I walked. Something didn't seem right. I walked into the lounge and opened the curtains. Mum was laying on the sofa, totally out of it. I turned to look at John. I could tell he was feeling the same hurt and anger as I was. Suddenly, the door flew open and slammed shut. Dad was home.

Dad approached, bottle of whiskey in his hand. He started on John. Shouting. Out of nowhere, dad threw a punch and caught John off guard. Right in his face. John fell to the ground instantly. He was out cold. I knelt down by his side, but dad kicked me out of the way. I slid on back across the floor. Dad used his foot to push me back again, against the wall before throwing his whiskey bottle on the floor. It shattered everywhere. He reached down, and pulled me up by my throat. My feet were just off the floor. We gripped my neck so tightly. I was scared.

 **John:** I woke up. I was laying on the floor. My face throbbed. When I realised what was going on, I spring to my feet. I used all my strength and threw dad off of Jodi. She fell to the floor. Dad fought back. Mom woke up. I was fighting with dad while mom was trying to hit Jodi. Everything was a blur. Dad and I were still fighting, we moved into the the kitchen.

 **Jodi:** Mom was hitting me across the face. I tried to fight her off but my arms and hands were cut from dad's smashed whiskey bottle. Suddenly, I was lying on my back again. And mom's foot was on my throat. I was in unbearable pain. I could see John trying to run towards me. Dad stopped him. He was pushed out of the way. His face was bleeding. My throat was starting to tighten. It hurt to breath. The tension was relieved all of a sudden. Dad had thrown mom off me. He grabbed my shoulder and lifted me up again. I could see John laying in the kitchen. He was bleeding. I felt my shoulder pop and I was drowned in pain again. Dad threw me to the ground and lit a cigar. I desperately tried to crawl towards John. He wasn't moving. The pain was ridiculous. I couldn't fight through it. I was laying on my stomach. Dad placed his boot on my back to stop me. It was heavy. He leaned down and rolled me onto my side with my back against the wall. I winced in pain. I noticed that dad was wearing his steel toe cap boots. He kicked me full on in the stomach. I could hear a crack and my stomach seemed to implode with pain. He knelt down my side and pressed his cigar onto my arm. He left it there for so long it went out. He re lit it and did it again. And again. I coughed up blood. It hurt to breath. It hurt to move. John still hadn't moved. Dad stood up and looked down at me. I turned my face to look the other way. At some point throughout this ordeal, mom had been sick. She was laying on her back. She wasn't moving either. It didn't look like she was breathing. Dad noticed as well. I turned my head back to look at dad. It hurt to lift my head up. I could see dads boots. I could see him swing his foot back. I could see him kick me in the face. I felt the pain. I closed my eyes.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

 **Andy:** I pulled up outside Jodi and John's house to pick them up for school. I beeped the horn and waited. No one came out. I thought Jodi must still be sleeping so I walked around the side of the house and to her bedroom window. I was surprised to see Bear still outside, tied up in the same place. I looked in the window. Jodi wasn't in her room and neither were the bags she had from camping. I felt sick with fear. I picked Bear up and put him in my car. I walked around the back of the house and peered in the kitchen window. John was laying on the kitchen floor. He was covered in blood. I could see their father sat on the sofa. Shit. I ducked down and walked back around the house. Jodi's warned me of her dad, he's dangerous. I couldn't risk going inside. I drove to Claire's house and explained everything. We phones the police and ambulance and met them round at their house.

 **Claire:** The police broke the door down. The smell was unreal. John's father stood up when he saw the police. An officer ran over the arrest him while paramedics ran in the house. Three bodies lay on the floor. I couldn't tell if they were dead or alive. Everything happened so quickly. It was a blur to me.

 **Andy:** One officer walked out with Jodi's dad and drove him off while the other called for backup. Jodi lay near her mother. I sat by her side and Claire did the same with John. The paramedics checked Jodi's pulse. I couldn't feel her breathing. They said her pulse was weak. John's was the same. Their mother was dead. The paramedics brought the stretchers in. The police officer guided Claire and I out of the house, even though we protested.

 **Claire:** As Andy and I stood outside, the paramedics wheeled John and Jodi out of the house. John had a stab wound to his stomach. Jodi's face was all smashed up and bleeding. As they put John and Jodi into the ambulance, the backup police arrived. They put police tape around their house. Their home just became a crime scene.

 **Andy:** I drove to the hospital with Claire. We ran into the emergency room but they wouldn't let us see them. We waited for around a couple of hours when a nurse came out and told us we could see John. They had no news on Jodi.

 **Claire:** John was unconscious and hadn't been changed into a hospital gown yet. They told us that his stab wound wasn't too deep, it had been bandaged. John lay there, topless and in his bloodstained jeans. He had a huge dressing over his wound. I held his hand and gave him a kiss. Andy put his hand on my shoulder to comfort me. We were led out of the room again.

 **Andy:** About two and a half hours later they came to talk to us about Jodi. She had a dislocated shoulder, a broken nose, a fractured jaw, 4 broken ribs, cuts on her arms, bruising all over but particularly around her neck and severe cigar burns on her arm. I started crying. I couldn't help it. It hurt me to think of her in all that pain. They finally let us see her. She was also unconscious. She lay there in a hospital gown. The blood had been cleaned off her face but the bruising and swelling was unreal. Her right arm was in a sling. The doctors had fitted metal wires into her mouth to help realign her jaw. She had small paper stitches and plasters on her arms and face. On her left arm, were three small dressings. They looked different to normal dressings so I assumed they were for the burns. It nearly broke me seeing her like this.

 **Claire:** I phoned Brian and Allison to let them know what happened. They wanted to come and visit them but I told them to wait until they woke up. I phoned my parents and Andy phoned his. Both of our parents came to see how we were. They brought us clothes and also things for John and Jodi. Andy's parents took Bear to their house.

John woke up. Andy and I rushed in to see him. He was wired up to machines and connected to a drip. The nurse followed us in to monitor him.

"Princess? W-what.. Where am I?" He mumbled, confused.

"Hey it's okay. You're in hospital John." I replied.

"I think I remember. Wait, Jodi?! Where's Jodi?!" He tried to pull all of his wires off but the nurse calmed him down while I reassured him.

"Jodi's here too. Everything's going to be okay."

"Is she okay? Is she hurt?!" I looked at Andy. "C'mon! Sporto, what has he done to her?!" John was getting anxious.

"She uh, she's got a broken nose and a fractured jaw. And a couple broken ribs, and some cigar burns. Oh and a dislocated shoulder. But um, the doctors say she's going to be okay." Andy replied. I could tell it was hurting him to say it. John demanded to see Jodi. But first, social services and the police needed to speak to him. They spoke for around an hour, before they all left, followed by John in a wheelchair being pushed by the nurse. He was in pain but he hid it.

 **Andy:** We took John to see Jodi. Claire stood next to John on one side of the bed, I said by the other side. John and I each held one of Jodi's hand. I could see his pain and I could tell he could see mine too.

 **John:** I was discharged from hospital on the Wednesday morning. I couldn't go home; mom was dead, dad was locked up. Because I was 18 now, I couldn't go in foster care like Jodi could. Social services offered me a place in a youth hostel, but Claire's parents insisted that I stayed with them.

Claire and I went to get my stuff from my house so I could drop it into her house. We went back to the hospital. Jodi woke up yesterday morning. She's in a lot of pain but still being strong. She has to keep her arm in the sling for around a week or so, and the metal wires in her mouth should be able to come out in a month. She couldn't talk or eat properly. They found out yesterday that she was extremely close to having a collapsed lung, which is why it hurts so much for her to breath. I hated seeing her like this. It's all dad's fault. I hope he gets what's coming to him in prison.

Andy and Claire have been brilliant. Claire has helped me to get back on my feet; my stomach is healing nicely now and her support has got me through it. Andy has barely left Jodi's side. He loves her for sure. He helped me tell her about mom. I think she's still in shock about it. Mom had taken heroine and she choked on her sick while dad was beating the shit out of us. The funeral is next Thursday.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

 **Jodi:** _Dad held my neck and pushed me against the wall. He was strangling me. I tried to fight back but I couldn't. He laughed and lit a cigar. He pressed it into my arm. The heat surged through my body._

I woke abruptly. It was just a dream. I sat up in bed and turned the lamp on. I had been having bad dreams ever since mom died. It was her funeral tomorrow. John was coming to pick me up at 9 and then the funeral car was leaving Claire's at half past. I was staying with some foster family again. It was only my second night here. I miss my own bed. I miss John. I miss Andy.

 **John:** The funeral was strange. They kept calling her a 'loving wife and mother'. Loving? She either helped dad beat the crap outta us or she just sat there and watched him do it. It's her fault we're in this mess. She should have divorced dad as soon as he started doing this shit. We could have had a good life.

I'm saving up my money for a flat. I haven't told her this yet, but I want to become Jodi's legal guardian. I don't want her to be in foster care for another two years. She's smart, she could actually do well in school. I messed up and I don't want her to as well.

 **Jodi:** After the funeral, we all went for a drive with Andy. We stopped near this field and just sat around, talking. It was nice being with everyone again. It helped to take my mind off things. Andy and Claire hadn't been in school much lately either, so Brian and Allison told us all what was going on. Everyone was talking about us. My mom's death and dad's arrest had been all over the local news. Great. I was dreading going back.

 **Andy:** It was Monday. I drove round to Jodi's foster home and picked her up for school. She was still in pain but she could talk and eat like normal now, and her ribs were healing quite well. When we got to school, the rest of the guys were already waiting for us. Everyone stared at John and Jodi. I didn't like it.

 **Jodi:** Everyone was staring at me. Principal Vernon called John and I into his office. I didn't really listen to what he was saying, something about being understanding. Because of this, I walked into my lesson late. Everyone turned and watched me walk to my seat. I was sat near the jocks, Andy's old friends. They started whispering and laughing before saying comments to me about my dad. They said they didn't blame him for beating John and I. I can't deal with this. I grabbed my bag, stood up and walked out.

I sat under the bleachers and searched through my bag. I found my dope, rolled a joint and smoked it. I did want to quit, but it helps so much with the pain. After about five minutes, principal Vernon walked around the corner.

"Come on Bender. With me." He said. I took one last drag before following him to his office. "Take a seat". I sat down. "Now Bender, I know you're going through a tough time at the moment but you cannot let your school work slide."

"Why not? Who cares?"

"I do. And I know you do really."

I stood up. "No I don't! I couldn't give a shit about anything anymore! It's all bullshit!" I was pacing the room, Vernon stood up.

"Jodi, you need to calm down. Sit back down please."

"No! You can shove your seat up your ass! I'm so done here! I should have left a long time ago!" I walked towards the door but Vernon stopped me. He put his hand on my shoulder. "Get off me Dick."

"This needs to stop! You are smart Jodi! You can do well!"

"Shut up!" My angered reached breaking point. I exploded. I sweeped everything off his desk. Threw a mug at the wall. Smashed photo frames. I punched the wall so hard it dented. Oh shit.

 **John:** I was in class getting Brian to give me the answers to a dumb test when Dick walked in and called me out. He started walking so I followed him.

"Where are we going Dick?" I asked him.

"I caught your sister earlier Bender. She walked out of her class and was smoking dope under the bleachers-"

"Well can you really blame her? No one understands the shit we've been through!" I interrupted him, starting to get annoyed.

"I know that John, that's not all I was going to say. Now, I brought her to my office and she lost her temper. Again."

"And?"

"John, I think Jodi needs counselling. And it would probably be a good idea for you to give it a go as well."

I stopped walking. "Counselling? Are you for real? I'm fine. She's fine. The sooner we get out of here the better." I went to walk away but he stopped me.

"John please. I want to help you, both of you. I've spoken to Jodi's foster parents and social worker and they all agree that counselling may help her. But John, she isn't going to agree to do it on her own. I need you to help."

"Fine. But I'm doing this for her not for you, I'm only doing it so she can prove to you that there's nothing wrong with her."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

 **Jodi:** I sat outside the school counsellor's office with Andy, John and my foster parents. This was so embarrassing, I'm just glad the counsellors office is in the old part of the school where no one goes. John and I had been to see her last week and she asked to see me again, alone. She's alright I guess but I don't like some of the questions she asks. I went to a counsellor with John when I was a kid but only three times. The counsellor called me in and Andy gave me a kiss goodbye.

Her name was Kate. Her office was pale blue, it reminded me of my room at this foster home. There were a variety of seats in the room, but I chose to sit on the beanbags in the corner. Kate moved a chair and sat opposite me.

"So, Jodi, how are feeling today?"

"Fine."

"You've been in your foster house for about two weeks now right? How's that going?"

"Fine."

"Look Jodi, I know you don't want to be here. But if you don't open up to me then you will be here for a long while."

"Whatever. Just get on with it then."

"Okay. We're going to play a word association game, just answer truthfully with the first thing that comes to mind when I say each word okay?" I nodded. She started with the word "cat".

I replied with "dog", this was easy. She continued.

"School."

"Detention."

"Love."

"Friends."

"Childhood."

"Memories."

"Memories."

"Home."

"Home."

"Hurt."

"Hurt."

"Dad."

"Dad."

"Look this is bullshit. I'm not doing this if you're just going to keep repeating the things I say."

"Okay. We can stop for now. So, can you tell me why you wanted to stop when I said dad?"

"What? No.. It's not like that. You just kept repeating everything."

"There's no need to be embarrassed Jodi. I'm here to help you. Don't lie, why did you stop when I said dad?"

I stood up. "Because he's a prick okay?! He's beaten the crap outta me for over half my life!"

"Please sit back down. I'm not here to judge." I sat down and shook my head. I can't believe I'm doing this.

"Over half of your life? So when did it start? How old were you?"

"I was five when he first hit John, seven when he first hit me, and nine when he got his blade out."

"So you remember exactly how old you were?"

"Yes I remember it. How on earth could you forget something like that?"

"Some people like to block bad memories out. Have you ever tried this?"

"Yeah I tried it. It doesn't work. It's in my mind 24/7. It's like a disease. It won't go away. It won't let me sleep. It won't let me get on with my life."

"You have problems sleeping?" She started writing notes. I nodded. "Do you ever get bad dreams about the past?"

"Sometimes."

"When? And what are they like?"

"I don't know. Whenever. They're like being back there and reliving it. They wake me up and for a second or two I think it's happening again.."

"Okay. Thank you Jodi. Now, I can't be certain as this isn't my area of expertise, but I believe you have PTSD."

"What the fuck is that?"

"Nothing to worry about. It stands for posttraumatic stress disorder. Now I'd like to call your foster parents in to discuss everything with them okay?"

"What about John and Andy?"

"Well yes they can come in too if you like." Kate left and soon returned, followed by everyone else. John and Andy sat on the beanbags either side of me. My foster parents sat on the couch by the side.

Kate looked at everyone and started to explain. "Now as I've already told Jodi, I believe she may have posttraumatic stress disorder. As I'm only a school counsellor I cannot diagnose this. So, I am referring you to Dr. Kirkman who is based in the hospital down the road. His details are on this card so all you need to do is phone and book an appointment." She handed the card to my foster mother, Jayne.

"So what will happen if she does have this posttraumatic thing?" John asked.

"Regular counselling, possibly medication. All cases are different so it's hard to tell." Kate replied.

"All cases? Is that all she is to you? Just another damn case?!" John stood up, walked out and slammed the door shut. I shook my head and followed him.

 **John:** I walked out of the counsellors office and towards the school bleachers. Everyone was in lessons. I slammed doors and pushed everything out of my way. Eventually I reached the bleachers. I sat down and by the time I had lit a cigarette, Jodi was sat next to me.

"You ain't got anything a bit stronger?" She asked, I knew she was referring to dope.

"Nah. Left it in my bag." Both of our bags were at the counsellors office.

"Give me a cigarette then. I'm all out." I handed her one. She looked for her lighter but I guessed that was in her bag too. She put the cigarette in her mouth and looked at me. She did this cheesy grin that made her look crazy. I lit it for her. "Thanks."

"No problem sis."

"Why'd you walk outta there?"

"Didn't like it. They all saying you've got that pdts thing."

"PTSD? It's fine, I don't care."

"Well I do. Jodi, that first time he hit you, I hated myself. I felt like I failed you. All I've ever wanted to do is to stop him hitting you. I don't give a shit of he hits me, I could handle him-"

"Hey! I could handle him too" she laughed.

"You know what I mean. You're my little sister and I hate him for what he's done to you. But then, when she said you might have that thing, and it's all because of him, I hated myself again. I failed to protect you. I'm sorry." I felt like crying but I held it in a just smoked my cigarette.

"No John. Don't ever say that again! You have not failed me. You stepped into every fight you could have. You took the brunt of his anger for me. That _is_ protecting me. John if you weren't around, dad probably would have beaten me to death long before now. I love you man, you're my brother."

"I love you too." I wiped my eyes

"Hey! Don't you get all soppy on me me or I'll have to embarrass you in front of all the guys." She laughed and I couldn't help but laugh with her.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

 **Andy:** I sat up in bed and turned my lamp on. It was 3.45 am. Jodi was laying beside me, sleeping at last. She's had a rough time this past month. She has to go and see her counsellor 3 times a week. Her foster parents Jayne and Darren are having a baby so Jodi has to move out tonight and go to some new foster home. They told her last night and I think it just got to her. She kinda lost it with them and trashed her room. They phoned the police and they had to restrain her. They took her to her counsellors office with her social worker. They explained things to her but she said she didn't take notice of what they were saying. She wasn't meant to be moving out until closer to Jayne's due date, but because of how she reacted they wanted her out straight away. They couldn't find an emergency foster home so I said she could stay at mine for the night, and she did.

She has to get up soon, she has detention all day. School hasn't been great for her lately either. Most of the school know about her going to counselling and everyone's talking about it. She's been missing a lot of lessons and she got suspended for a few days the other week because Principal Vernon caught her with dope again. I'm quite worried about her. But, we only have one week of school left until the summer, so I'm hoping that will be better.

 **Jodi:** Andy dropped me off at school for my detention. When I walked into the library, Vernon was stood at the front, waiting. The two kids that made me give them a cigarette before were sat near each other towards the front of one side. I sat at the back of the other side. Vernon left.

"Why you kids here? Been asking for dope again?" I asked.

"No. We had some. Smoked it." The more confident of the two boys replied.

"Oh wow. That make you feel big did it?"

"I don't see what your problem is. You smoke dope and yet you tell us not to and when we do you take the piss outta us! What's the difference, Bender?"

"Well aren't you a cocky little prick. You see the difference is, you get to go home every night to a nice little family. I bet you have a big ol' meal cooked for you when you get home each day. A nice family chat until bedtime. I mean, look at your clothes. You're loaded. You can get anything you want. Yet you want to throw all that away by doing drugs?" Neither of them answered, they both looked embarrassed. They looked away from me so I got up and sat in a different part of the library.

Finally the end of detention came. I grabbed my bag and left. Andy was waiting for me outside. I got into the car with him and he asked me if I was ready. I nodded. We had to go and get my stuff from Jayne and Darren's. My social worker wanted to take me but I said no. So we came to an agreement that Andy would take me. When I got there Bear came running towards me. He made me smile but my happiness soon went when I looked up. The two policemen who restrained me last night were stood next to Darren. Jayne wasn't around. I went upstairs and packed my stuff. I took two bags down to the car and then went back. I came down with the last bag and Bear on his leash. I looked at Darren. "Be safe" he said. I nodded and walked out of the door.

 **John:** So today's the day. They've finally let me become Jodi's legal guardian. I've been appealing for ages for this to happen but finally they agreed that Jodi should be with her family. I'll be fostering her until all the final details get sorted. Jodi doesn't know yet. I stood in our house and looked around. We had all been sorting things out like crazy today while Jodi was in detention. I hope she doesn't mind living here again after everything that happened. But it looks totally different now. There isn't much furniture here yet, but we can get that sorted. Jodi wasn't meant to be moving in so soon, her social worker told me a few days ago about her foster parents having a baby. They told me Jodi would move out of there in a couple of months so I had time to get things ready for her. I guess they didn't expect her to react the way she did.

I didn't even plan to have this house, I thought it would go up for sale. But I was wrong, since I'm 18 and mom and dad had bought the house, it automatically goes into my name.

 **Jodi:** Andy was driving me to my social workers office. I was sat in the front with Bear, I wasn't really paying attention to where we were going. Andy stopped the car and looked at me. I looked outside. We were parked outside my house. My home. "What are we doing here?" I asked him, confused.

"Um your social worker said you might have left some things here so you should um pick them up before going to see her." Andy looked nervous, shifty almost.

"I haven't got a key."

"It should be open."

This was weird. Why's he acting so strangely? I held Bear's leash and walked towards the house, Andy was following me. Cautiously, I opened the door.

"SURPRISE!"

Claire, Brian and Allison stood in the lounge, with John in front of them, smiling. I turned around, Andy was grinning at me. There was a big banner stuck to the ceiling saying 'Welcome home Jodi'. I gave John a huge hug and he explained everything to me. I couldn't believe it. After everything that's gone wrong in my life lately, something was finally going right for me. This was brilliant. John was going to sleep in the master bedroom, I was going to have his old room because it's bigger and we would still have a spare room. This summer's going to be amazing.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

 **Jodi:** The start of summer was the best yet. After a meeting with my social worker, John signed a few things and well, now he's my legal guardian. She'll be checking up on us every few months at first but apart from that, I'm free. Free from all the foster homes and foster parents. I'm finally home and it feels great.

John's working most days now to get us some money. I do a paper round in the mornings too. Andy's parents agreed for him to stay here over the summer so we've been doing a lot to the house. We cleared out the basement which took ages. John and I hadn't been down there since before we started high school. It was full of our old childhood stuff. We sorted the garden out too. Claire and Allison helped me plant some flowers while the boys started building a dog kennel for Bear. Everything was just going perfectly.

 **Andy:** It was just Jodi and I today. Brian and Allison were going out for the day, John was working and Claire was visiting family. It was about 2 in the afternoon. Jodi and I had been outside all day, I was trying to finish Bear's kennel and Jodi was working through some boxes she found somewhere. It was just too warm to stay inside.

I went into the house to get us a drink each when I remembered we hadn't checked the mailbox this morning. I went out the front and removed the mail from inside. There was two letters, one each for Jodi and John. I left John's in the kitchen and took Jodi's outside to her. I handed it to her, she read it, and her face dropped.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's from the court. Did you say John had a letter too?"

"What's it say? Yeah it looked exactly the same."

"Yeah. It will be the same. They want us to testify against my dad in court."

 **John:** I got home late. Bear came running up to me. It was dark. I locked the door and walked into the ktichen. I flicked the light on. There was a letter laying on the table with my name on it. I opened it up and read it. Shit.

 **Jodi:** I woke up at 6am. I got changed quietly so that I didn't wake Andy before going into the lounge. When I walked out of my room, I noticed John sleeping on the sofa with Bear. I grabbed his leash and took him out with me to do my paper round.

When I got back, John wasn't on the sofa. Andy was stood in the kitchen in only a pair of shorts. His hair was all messy and he looked tired. He turned to face me when I came in.

"Hey baby. How come you're late?" He asked me. I looked at the time and realised that I had been gone an extra half hour.

"I was just thinking about stuff. Sorry."

"It's no worries! I just missed you that's all." Andy walked towards me and gave me a huge hug. Suddenly, he picked me up over his shoulder and walked towards our bedroom. I laughed and pretended to protest.

"Hey put me down!" I shouted.

Andy placed me down on the bed and kneeled over me. He tickled me and kissed me. We were laughing together. All of a sudden, I could smell smoke.

"Hey hey wait. Can you smell that?" I asked.

Andy sniffed the air. He jumped up suddenly and ran into the kitchen. "Shit!" He shouted. I followed him into the kitchen. When I got there, he was holding a frying pan with smoke everywhere. He looked at me, "I tried to cook you pancakes." I couldn't help but laugh.

 **John:** It was Wednesday. I only saw Jodi briefly yesterday, we talked about the letters we had on Monday. This morning, another letter arrived. It was addressed to Jodi only, not me. In the top left corner of the envelope was a stamp from the prison dad was in. He had written to Jodi asking her to go and see him before his court hearing. Jodi didn't react well. She took the letter and went into her room. At around 7:30pm, Jodi finally came out of her room.

"I'm going to see him."

Andy and I looked at each other. "What?" I asked.

"I'm going to see him. Tomorrow. I want to know what he's got to say."

"Are you crazy? Jodi he killed our mom!"

"Yeah Jodi, John's right. Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

"Look I've made my mind up okay."

"Then I'm coming too. You're my sister, you're not going alone."

"Thank you. Andy, will you drive us?"

"Um well yeah, I mean if it's what you really want."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

 **Jodi:** So this is it. I sat at a table with John. We were inside the visitors area of the prison. We sat near the door. We were waiting for other visitors to come in before they let the inmates in. I looked around. There were other kids here. All with parents or grandparents. They looked excited. Happy to visit a father, brother, uncle or whatever. They held cards and photos and drawings. What are we doing here?

They let the inmates in. Dad sat opposite us.

"Johnny boy. Didn't expect you here." He said.

"Just get on with it. You wanted us here." John replied.

"No. I wanted Jodi here. I didn't send a letter to you, son."

"Well I wasn't going to let her come alone."

Dad put his hand in the air and a guard walked towards us. "My son here's had enough. He'd like to wait outside while I speak to my daughter."

"Certainly." The guard replied. John shook his head. I told him I'd be fine. He left.

"So, come on then. Why did you ask me to come here?" I asked.

"I hear you've been asked to testify against me in court. Are you going to do it?"

"Of course I am. At last, you're going to get everything you deserve."

"It'll be a shame if you couldn't testify though wouldn't it?" His eyes sparkled menacingly. "I mean, without you're evidence it would just be John's word against mine. And who would believe a stupid kid over a man like me? I'd be out in no time."

"Well that's too bad because I am testifying against you and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Then in that case I guess I'll be locked up for a long time. When I come out of here, you and John will be all grown up. Married, with kids maybe. And well, you wouldn't want anything to happen to your little families now, would you?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Nothing is going to stop me from making sure you get what you deserve. And when I do have kids, they're going to know exactly what scum their grandad is. They'll want nothing to do with you just like me and John." I stood up. "I hope you rot in prison." Dad stared at me. He didn't expect that from me. "What? Did I stutter?" I repeated to him.

 **John:** The court date came quickly. Claire was back. Andy drove us all to the court. Jodi and I had to go into separate rooms because we're giving evidence. Claire, Andy, Brian and Allison went to sit in the public part of the court. I was up first. I had to swear on the bible that I was telling the truth. Then this man was asking me questions about what happened. I could see the guy defending dad looking at me. It looked like he wanted to ask me something but he never did. Once I was done, I was allowed to sit with the rest of the guys and watch Jodi.

 **Jodi:** This was it. I was on oath. Dad's threat was in the back of my mind the whole time.

"So, this particular incident. Can you tell me how it happened please?" This !an was kind, he wanted to send dad down.

"John and I, we uh just came back from camping. We had been gone for two weeks so I hadn't seen mom or dad for a while. When we got in the house there was glass over the floor. And it was dark. Mom, um mom was laying on the sofa. She was unconscious. Dad came in and he uh had a bottle of whiskey in his hand. He started on John. He knocked John out and pushed me out of the way when I tried to help him. Dad tried to strangle me but John woke up and stopped him. That's when mom woke up. She hit me and threw me to the floor. John tried to help me but dad stopped him again. I closed my eyes and when I opened them I could see John laying on the floor bleeding. I tried to crawl to John but dad stopped me again. He kicked me in the stomach. I felt my own ribs break. I felt my shoulder dislocate. I felt it all. He lit a cigar and burned me with it three times. I was coughing up blood, laying on the floor with dad towering over me. I looked to the side and mom was laying there, she didn't look like she was breathing, she had been sick. Dad kicked me in the face and then I woke up in hospital."

When I started speaking I was struggling. Struggling to recall it all. But then it all came back to me and I just felt like I needed to tell them everything right now. When I stopped talking, I could feel myself tearing up. I felt like breaking down. The judge thanked me and dismissed me. As soon as I was out of the court room I didn't know what to do. Andy ran around the corner and hugged me. I broke down in his arms.

Dad was found guilty. He went to prison. He'd be locked up for years. We were free at last.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

 **Andy:** From that day on, everything got better. Claire and I moved in with Jodi and John permanently. Our summer was pretty uneventful. Jodi still had to see her counsellor but that was only once a week now. We went camping again. Bear was growing up too. And the house looked completely new. Jodi and I moved into the basement. We all helped to buy new furniture for the house. Jodi painted the rooms. It was a fresh start. We only have one year left in school now. Wow.

 **Jodi:** The first day back in school, I had a meeting with Vernon. He told me how I have to keep up my grade point average this year to make sure I graduate. Since I'm graduating a year early I need at least a grade point average of a B. Yeah, I can do that.

 **John:** Jodi and Brian are going to tutor me this year. I need to to graduate with everyone. Before I met these guys I wouldn't have cared if I flunked a year again. But now, I can't be in high school without these idiots.

 **Claire:** Together, we managed to make our way through the year. We had an amazing Halloween party. Brian and Jodi cooked thanksgiving dinner and we all had thanksgiving together the day after. John and Jodi spent Christmas morning with my family, and Christmas night with Andy's.

 **Brian:** Easter time, we went camping again. We decided that wherever we are in the future, we will make this a tradition.

 **Allison:** Soon enough, it was graduation day. We were all graduating. Together.

 **Jodi:** We all stood in our gowns and hats, waiting to be called out. Out of our group, I was up first. I walked onto the stage and shook hands with Principal Vernon. "Well done." He whispered to me, he looked genuinely proud. I smiled at him and walked along. I looked into the crowd. I could see Andy's parents clapping for me. It was nice to have people being happy for me. John was up next after me. When he had his scroll, he pumped his hand into the air with it. "Finally!" He said. Everyone laughed and clapped for him.

We threw a graduation party at our house. Loads of people turned up. It was great, it went on until about 5 in the morning.

 **John:** Things were looking up now. I had a full time job at the bar, Allison was working in the off licence down the road. The rest of the guys were off to college. Jodi was going to do art, Andy had a scholarship at the same college for wrestling. He was going to study some kind of sport science. Brian was off to do physics and maths, and Claire was doing fashion design. We still got the occasional letter off dad, but it didn't effect us now. We're better than him. We have our own lives now. We have a future.

 _ **To be continued...**_


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